A Guardian's Promise
by Rogue Dawn
Summary: No matter if their happy or sad, good or bad, there's never such thing as a memory that's okay to forget. A few months have passed since Riku and Sora have returned home, but not everything is right in paradise.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: I began this story last year, but unfortunatly couldn't write too much at first. Luckly, I've picked the story back up and have decided to finish it. Due to lack of information this continuation of Kingdom Hearts is just a story I came up with almost three years ago, so there's no Terra, Aqua, or Ven. But I still hope everyone enjoys! ^^**

* * *

"Riku?"

A young girl, around the age of seven, said. "Will you protect me? Till I get stronger?"

A nine-year-old Riku looked down at the girl sitting next to him. A puzzled expression on his face. "Why?" he asked her bluntly.

The girl lowered her head and answered. "Because what if something really bad happens? And I can't defend myself," She sounded ashamed to be asking him this. "Or I can't protect the people around me?"

Riku looked at her sympathetically now. He could tell she was fighting back tears, so he put his arm around her small shoulders in an effort to comfort her.

"Don't worry. I'll always protect you. No matter how strong you become."

Before Riku knew it, the girl had wrapped her arms around him, and had her head buried in his chest. Even thought she was crying and her voice was muffled, Riku could still hear her talk.

"Thank you," She sobbed, and her grip tightened. "Don't forget. Don't ever forget your promise to me."

Those last words rang in Riku's head like an echo, almost causing tears to come to his own eyes. Not knowing what to do, he embraced the small girl in return, allowing a single tear to run down his cheek, and then everything went dark.

Seconds later the present day, sixteen-year-old, Riku woke up in his room. He ran his fingers through his hair in order to push some of it out of his face.

"_I guess it's true what they say about dreams,"_ He thought. _"They either tell you what's truly on your mind, remind you of memories you'd rather forget."_

Knowing he couldn't go back to sleep, Riku turned and opened his bedside window, allowing the fresh salty air to lightly blow through his long silver hair. Propping his elbow on the window sill and resting his head in his hand to what the early dawn lighten the night sky.

"Has it really been that long ago?" He asked aloud. "Has it really been almost eight years since you left us?"

As the sun continued to rise and reflect its brilliance across the calm sea, Riku could hear a familiar laughter. The laughter of a young girl.

"You really don't want me to forget do you?"

The laughter faded and the soft voice of his mother entered his head.

"_Oh Sweetheart, It wasn't your fault. There's no way you could have known that would have happened."_

Riku sighed. Now was the worst time for a flashback. Especially one like this. As he turned away from the window, to get ready for the day, a final familiar echo invaded his mind.

"_I'll always protect you…always protect…always…"_


	2. Chapter 1

_"Something's not right." _Kairi thought as she strolled along the scenic beach, a soft breeze blowing through her auburn hair. She felt as if she'd put herself on autopilot. Her body was moving, but her mind seemed to have floated off elsewhere in the clouds above her. The last time she had this feeling, Sora and Riku were gone, both of them lost in different worlds while she was stuck here waiting for both of them to return home.

But now they were all home on their island again, and everything should have gone back to normal. Or at least close to normal considering the hell they'd been through. Only, as luck would have it, something came to trouble them, or rather trouble Kairi. The problem: Riku. He hadn't been acting himself lately, and it also seemed as if he was trying to avoid Kairi as well. Even Sora was acting funny. Every time Kairi asked about Riku, he'd reassure her that everything was fine, but Kairi wasn't buying it.

_"What do they have to hide?"_ She pondered. _"I'm their friend, right? What could be so top secret that they can't even tell me about it?" _

Kairi stopped and sat in the soft white sand. Watching the calm waves roll onto the shore. Never changing. Like their lives before any of this Kingdom Hearts business happened.

_"Why am I acting like this? It's probably nothing worth worrying about like Sora says it is." _ She told herself.

But it didn't help. She still had that same gross gut feeling nagging at her. As if she should have known about this and she was now feeling guilty about it. What was this horrid feeling? Oh, yeah. Women's intuition. How she loved to hate this curse.

As her mind raced through ideas, Kairi felt the presence of someone watching. Then she let out a small scream when, out of no where, a pair of tan arms grabbed her around the shoulders from behind. She was just about to punch her attacker, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Morning, princess!"

Kairi's head snapped up to see the smiling face of the friendly spiky haired boy she'd known ever since she came to the islands, and gave a short sigh of relief.

"Sora, don't do that! I was just about to punch you!"

"Wow, thanks a lot Kai!" Sora said laughing.

He released Kairi from his grasp, and took a spot on the sand beside her, still smiling like a fool. Kairi felt color slowly creeping into her cheeks making her turn away from Sora slightly. It just never ceased to fail, every time Sora smiled that mischievous smile of his for Kairi, she always blushed. It was another curse she loved to hate.

"So, what's bothering you now?" Sora asked when he finally calmed down.

"What do you mean?" Kairi gave him a questionable look.

"Well, you looked sort of like you were walking in a trance on the beach, so I came down to see if I could snap you out of it. So, tell me, what's bothering you?"

Kairi rolled her eyes and gazed out over the ocean. "I've told you before, Sora. Riku's just isn't himself lately, and it's really worrying me now."

Sora's smile faded. "Kai, I told you before it's no-."

"Nothing to worry about. I know!" She blurted out. "But if there wasn't anything for me to worry about then he shouldn't go around trying to avoid me!"

Sora opened his mouth to say something, but Kairi cut him off before he could start. "You've been acting weird too, Sora!" Kairi now faced Sora instead of the sea. Her eyes boring into his, pinning him down to his spot in the sand. "You talk to Riku! You know what's going on! But you still won't tell me anything!"

Kairi felt better. She'd finally gotten rid of most of her built up frustration, but she felt terrible for letting it out on Sora, the only boy she cared about more than anything. What else was she suppose to do though? Let him go on without knowing how she felt, or giving her a straight answer?

"I'm sorry, Sora. I-."

"It's okay, Kairi." This time Sora cut Kairi off. "I know you're upset about being left in the dark, and worrying about Riku with out knowing why, but it's not my story to tell, Kairi." He looked down to escape her violet gaze. "I'm sorry. I made a promise."

Kairi stared blankly at Sora. She felt hurt and untrusted. It was at times like this Kairi wished Sora wasn't so loyal to his promises. It was driving her crazy, and she was getting sick of running around in circles.

"I've gotta go Sora." Kairi got up and began walking away as fast as she could down the beach.

"Hey, wait up Kai!" Sora scrambled to his feet, almost losing his balance in the process, to catch up to Kairi. "I said I'm sorry Kairi! I didn't mean to make you madder! Are you even listening to me?!" He was almost at her side now, but Kairi didn't seem to notice. "Kairi, where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Riku." She said keeping her head facing forward. "Maybe he'll finally give me some answers."

"Okay, Kai, I'll go with you then."

"Sor-." Kairi stopped herself. There was no point in arguing with Sora anymore. Like his promises, once he said he was going to do something he'd do it. "Fine, we'll go together."

Kairi slowed down to a normal pace, and she and Sora walked together in abnormal silence down the beach.

Riku's house was located along the shore, but even so, the short walk felt like an eternity to Kairi. It seemed as if the more she walk to more the anxiety grew inside. All she wanted was answers. Quick, simple answers. What was so hard about that?

As they approached the beach house, Kairi couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding washing over her, but she kept going. She wasn't about to chicken out now. Sora then lead her up a flight of stairs to a porch where Riku was waiting behind a glass door that lead into the brightly lit sunroom. As if he was expecting them that day.

"Did you see us coming?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I did." Riku came forward and opened the door for them. "Come in. We can talk more in side."

"Thanks."

Kairi followed Sora inside the familiar sunroom, and sat next to him on a sofa, trying to catch a glance from Riku. Here, in this room, was were they had their study sessions during school time, and spent some of their summer days when they weren't on the island. Everything in the room was just as Kairi remembered it from the last time she was there, except maybe a few items might have been moved around, but none the less it was the same.

"So why are you two here? Asked Riku as he sat down in a chair beside them

"Well, you see…" Sora started.

"I want to know what's going on."

Riku and Sora's heads both snapped towards Kairi, who was facing Riku.

"You and Sora both have been acting weird lately, and I just want to know what's up"

"Kai -."

"It's okay, Sora'" Riku interrupted. He got up from his seat and went to a set of double glass doors that lead into a spotless kitchen. "I'll be back in a minute."

Riku left and Kairi slumped down deeper in the couch. He soon returned with a gold picture frame in his hand.

"Here," He said as he held it out to Kairi. "this will explain everything."

Kairi took the frame and was surprised at what she saw. The picture it held was of Riku when he was younger giving a piggyback ride to a girl Kairi had never seen before. She was wearing a pink and blue sundress with her snow white hair pulled into pigtails. Her icy blue eyes sparkling as she smiled. Kairi thought as hard as she could, but she couldn't give the girl a name.

"Riku, who is this girl?" she asked.

Riku sat back down in his chair, and looked as if he was trying to find the right words to tell her.

"Out with it Riku! Who is she?" Kairi asked, annoyed.

Riku sighed.

"Her name is Ichigo. She's my little sister."


	3. Chapter 2

"What?" Kairi's voice softened for a moment as she gave Riku a surprised stare.

"The girl in the photo, she's my little sister." Riku repeated.

Kairi quickly turned to Sora. "Sora, is this what you and Riku been keeping from me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry Kairi." Sora's eyes held a sincere apologetic expression. "Riku wanted to tell you himself, so I promised I wouldn't say anything."

Kairi turned to Riku with a mixed expression, as if she didn't know what to feel. "Why didn't you tell me about her?" Kairi asked. "Why did you stay quiet about her for so long?"

"I didn't tell you because I was tired of people feeling sorry for me." Riku said calmly. "After I got to know you, and we became friends, I did want to tell you, but I didn't know how. I was going to tell you once we set sail on the raft, but our plans were sort of fell apart at the last minute."

"Yeah, they did. So, what happened to her?"

Riku hated this story, every part of it. It had no real ending, it had no happiness, and it made no sense to be true. It was a story with no end and full of mystery, and it gave the people involved only grief. But he would have to tell it, at least one last time, for Kairi.

"No one really knows." Riku began. "Ichigo was so friendly, outgoing, and carefree, most everybody liked her. She was also a fast learner, and liked to hang around me and Sora, so she learned to spar. Sora and I didn't really mind her tagging along with us. She was fun to play with, and we had fun teaching her to fight. Also, Ichigo was my responsibility, my parents would say I had to be an older brother and look out for her.

"Anyway, one day were all on the Island, Sora, Ichigo, and me. It was just like any other day there, nothing was going on to make me think differently. Me and Sora were sparring and Ichigo had ran off to the Cove. It was early summer and most of the flowers were blooming, so she had gone to see them. Soon, the sun was about to set, we had to go, but Ichigo hadn't come back

"Me and Sora looked for her in all over the Cove and in all of the tree houses. We even looked in the Secret Spot, but all we found was tons of scattered flowers. We finally had to go and when we told my parents we couldn't find Ichigo they couldn't believe it. After an hour they had a search party out looking for her. They came back with the same results me and Sora got. It was like Ichigo had just vanished off the island. She didn't even leave any trace that she was even on the Island. Ichigo was just gone."

"And no one's seen her since then?" Kairi asked.

Riku shook his head no. "We looked everywhere for three months and finally we had to give up. Nobody wanted to, but it's an island, there aren't too many places a six-year-old can hide and not be found. So, my parents, after another month, decided to lay Ichigo to rest, and we held a small service for her at her…grave"

"_An empty grave..."_ Riku thought in the back of his mind.

"And that's what happened." Riku concluded, unsure of what else to say or if he wanted to say anymore. He looked over at Kairi, whose face held a pitiful expression.

"Riku, I'm so sorry. I-." Kairi was cut off by a loud beeping sound coming from her side pouch. She laid Ichigo's picture in her lap and pulled out a cell phone.

"Oh, great!" Kari gasped as she franticly silenced the alarm. "I'm late for my job!"

Kairi handed the photo back to Riku, who placed it upright on a table next to the couch as he stood up himself along with Sora.

"Do you need me to give you a ride, Kairi?" Riku asked. He had gotten his driver's license shortly after he and Sora had returned. Although he loved to be with his best friends, Riku was greatful to be able to leave every so often to be by himself, just to clear his head and think about things a bit clearer.

"Yeah, that would be great!" Kairi responded, relieved.

"What about me?" Sora added, giving Riku a cheesy smile. His efforts were obviously to lighten the mood from the seriousness of the moments passed.

"I'll drive you home." Replied Riku bluntly.

"I was joking, Sora. Just get in the car and I'll take you wherever you need to be."

"Thanks, man!" Sora then ran to wait for the other two in the driveway, leaving Kairi and Riku alone.

Kairi was just about to leave until Riku sighed "So, do you forgive me?"

"Huh?" Kairi turned back to Riku.

Riku was a little surprised that she had heard him, but he managed to keep calm. "Do you forgive me for keeping Ichigo such a deep dark secret?" This time when Riku talked he made eye contact with Kairi. He felt as if he was pleading to her violet eyes.

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, of course I do. I just wish you had told me sooner."

"You're right, I should have, but there's nothing much we can do about that now, right?"

"Right. I also wish I could have met her as well."

"Yeah, you two would have been good friends." Riku said, knowing it would have been true. Ichigo had always been more sociable than himself.

"Well, we'd better go before I'm late!"

"Yeah, and Kairi, thanks."

Kairi smiled. "You're welcome."

The group left the house and rode off to Kairi's summer job. As Riku drove, he noticed that he felt somewhat lighter than he had previously felt.


	4. Chapter 3

It was late afternoon when Kairi left the clothing boutique she worked at. The sun was setting and painted the sky marvelous shades of reds and oranges toward the beach, but still allowing night to sneak in from the east with purples and blues. So, Kairi headed to the beach to enjoy this last showcase of colors. Besides, she didn't feel like going home just yet.

As she walked down the sidewalk, Kairi hear running footsteps coming her way, along with Sora's voice calling her name. She turned around just in time to see Sora slow down and skid to a stop in front of her. He was panting and sweating as if he'd been looking for her for hours, but after a few moments to recover, he still managed to give her his charming grin.

"Hey, Kai." He finally said.

"Hey, Sora. Are you okay?" She was a little concerned because of the afternoon heat.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sora said cheerfully. "Anyway, are you still mad as me? You didn't talk to me or Riku in the car earlier." His eyes show that he had been worrying about this all afternoon, so Kairi gave him a soft smile.

"No, I'm not mad at either of you. Plus, Riku already asked me to forgive him back at his house.

"That's great." Relief replaced Sora's worry. "But I would still understand if you were still mad at me, This is a big deal with Riku. He was really close to Ichigo, and when I think about it, she was like a little sister to me too Anyway, are you okay? This all sort of came out of no where."

""I'm fine, Sora." Kairi said, still retaining her smile. "It's just sort of odd thinking that Riku had a little sister, and she looked a lot like him."

Sora laughed. "And sometimes she would act like him too. One time, I told her I wouldn't spar with her, and when she saw me on the dock later, she pushed me into the ocean.

Kairi joined Sora's laughter. Her mind began to piece the scenario together and play it in her head. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, so she could talk again. "Well, besides checking up on me, is there anything else you want to share? Any long lost siblings I should know about?"

"Na, I'm an only child as far as I know." Sora chuckled. "But I do want to talk a little more about Riku."

"Oh, great" Kairi thought in the back of her mind. The two started walking to the shore. "Alright, Sora, go ahead."

"Well, if you couldn't tell from earlier, Riku was really close to Ichigo, and now that I think about it she was like a sister to me too. Anyway, everyday we'd go out and one of his parents would tell him to look out for Ichigo. So when she disappeared, Riku blamed himself the most and he didn't feel any better when a rumor came out that she had drowned in the ocean. You know how Riku is. He takes his promises seriously, and he felt like a failure when he couldn't keep this one."

"Yeah, he takes his promises seriously. I guess I understand a little bit better now." Kairi said, and turned to Sora. "But when I came here, he seemed fine."

Sora smiled. "I think that's because you helped him remember that time was still moving and that he had to move on a little bit."

Kairi hadn't thought of that. "Maybe that's why he thanked me back at his house."

When Kairi and Sora reached the beach the sun was only a red sliver in the sky. As she looked over the glittering sea, an odd thought struck Kairi.

"Sora…if Ichigo had drowned wouldn't her body have washed ashore?"

Sora swallowed hard and became uneasy, but he answered the question. "Ummm…yes, i-it would have and when Riku thought of that he gained a little bit of hope that she was alive. But even if she was alive, he knew she wasn't going to come back."

"But he never forgot her."

"No, and you know what else, Kai? When we got lost in those other worlds, I think Riku looked for her too, while he searched for us."

"That's why he was so depressed when he came home. Beside feeling guilty about giving into the Darkness." Kairi paused. "Do you think Ichigo is alive, Sora?"

Again Sora became uneasy. "I don't know, Kairi. Maybe she is, there isn't any thing that's says she's dead. Well, I just wanted to tell a little bit more about where Riku was coming from."

"Thanks, Sora." Kairi sighed, almost in relief. Not that she was glad something bad had happened to her friends. It was relief that her friend wasn't in trouble or something serious. Kairi's only hope now was that Riku would start to act more like himself now that he had Ichigo off his chest.

**XXXXXX**

Riku had just returned to his quiet home after spend the rest of his day at a near by cove. The house was just as he left it, not that he expected anyone to be there. Both his parents, business man and a nurse, worked fairly long hours, so a silent house was nothing new. Yet Riku had an eerie feeling of loneliness shadowing over him after being with his friends in the same house just a few hours ago.

He remembered the picture of Ichigo he had left on the table and went to the sunroom to retrieve it. Through the many windows of the room, Riku watched as the final piece of sun light slowly sink below the horizon, beginning to reveal a dark blanket of stars. The light reflected brightly off the golden picture frame in the corner of Riku's eye.

Riku picked up the photo and studied the last image of him and his sister together.

_"Damn it, Ichigo. What happened?"_

A reflection in the picture caught Riku's attention. It was the dark image of someone, or something, in an Organization cloak standing right behind him. Riku swiftly turned around to face the cloaked intruder, but no one was there. Riku looked back at the picture but the reflection was gone. Riku was alone again

_"I guess it was my imagination."_ Riku thought, and with the picture in his hand, he left the room.


	5. Chapter 4

The sand cushioned Riku's footsteps as he walked across the strip of beach in front of his house. It was early Sunday morning about two weeks after Riku told Kairi about Ichigo, when he decided to take this walk. The sky was dark and starless with the only source of light coming from the moon, but Riku didn't mind. His destination was one he could reach blind folded.

"_Everything is back to normal."_ Riku thought. _"Me and Sora got jobs near that shop Kairi works at, so we can sent some time together on breaks. Kairi even said I wasn't acting strange anymore. Except for my mind tricking me into seeing an Organization member, everything is normal." _

Riku stopped at his destination, a small cove with huge boulders surrounding it. At the moment Riku walked up to one of the large rocks an incoming wave came up and crashed against the boulder, getting Riku wet in the process. He simply wiped the salt water off his face. climbed on top of the boulder, and sat overlooking the dark ocean.

For years, Riku thought the ocean had taken Ichigo and put her in grave in the deep ocean floor or had washed her ashore a sister island and was buried there. When he, Sora, and Kairi were transported into other worlds, he thought maybe she was taken there, but no one he asked knew of a girl with white hair who claimed to be from an island nor did he see any trace of her himself.

"Now I'm back to square one." Riku said aloud. He studied the waves as they moved closer to the island and thought of all the different rip tides and currents underneath. "Maybe it was the only square there is, but I have to know. Where are you?"

Only the sound of crashing waves answered.

**XXXXXX**

Riku had just finished tying up their boat, after spending a day on the island with Sora, when Ichigo ran off to the cove. The sun had gone down their way home and their parents were probably getting worried about now, so Riku followed his sister. She had ignored all of his calls to stop and come back, and kept on running towards the cove.

After running through the shallow water, leaving behind hardly noticeable impressions of her feet in the sand, Ichigo climbed up one of the smaller boulders. She sat on top of the rock and panted, trying to catch her breath, but she was still smiling. Riku walked up to her chosen boulder and sighed. "Come on, Ichigo, it's time to go home. It's late."

"But look, Riku!" Ichigo jumped up and pointed at the moon in the star studded sky. Riku turned and looked at the celestial object as it's glow made a spot light on the ocean's surface. "It's so big and bright!" Ichigo stretched our her hand. "It's so close I can almost touch it!"

Yes, the moon did appear that way tonight. It was like a gem surrounded by small diamonds suspended in space.

"Hey, Riku." Ichigo chimed.

Riku turned his head to face her, Ichigo was sitting down again. "What?"

"Did you know that the moon doesn't have any natural light?"

"What are you talking about?" Riku asked.

"The moon doesn't have any light of it's own. It's a reflection of the sun's light."

"Really?" Riku was surprised she knew this.

"Yeah, but even though it's just a reflection, the moonlight, it's pretty. Right, Riku?"

"Yes, it is pretty."

**XXXXXXX**

Riku stared at the moon for a few moments. "No…..it's beautiful."

Suddenly, Riku caught something move in the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was but nothing was there. Riku turned back to the front, and within a few seconds three neo-shadow heartless jumped in front of him. He jumped off the boulder and landed on the cool cove sand, there Riku's keyblade materialized in his hand.

_"I didn't think I'd have to summon you so soon."_

More heartless appear around Riku. He raised his keyblade above his head and assumed a duel stance and started slashing through the first few heartless that charged at him. He defeated the first few but as Riku fought the next few something was different. He seemed to have to hit them harder and more often than what he used to. Still, Riku fought on and after fifteen minutes the last of the heartless group was slain.

The keyblade vanished from Riku's hand and he surveyed the area and looked in the direction of the town and it all seemed calm. The cove was a good distance from the more populated areas of the island, but Riku would still have been able to tell if trouble was there. Why would the heartless attack here? Why attack him when he was alone instead of the sleeping islanders just a short distance away?

"_It doesn't make sense."_

Plus why not attack Sora or Kairi? Sora was the Keyblade master, Kairi was one of the seven princesses, and he wasn't sure what to call himself, but nothing as important as what his friends were. Riku sighed, none this made sense. He would tell his friends about this as soon as he could, but for now he needed rest.

Riku left the cove and made his way home in the reflected sunlight. The evidence of his fight on the beach was slowly being erased from the sand by the waves.


	6. Chapter 5

A few days earlier, Kairi had planned for the three of them to have a picnic and spend the day at the island. Riku was first to arrive at their determined spot on the beach. The day was sunny and hot, like most days on the island. The waves softly hitting the shore and combined with his lack of sleep from his late night battle, Riku quickly dozed off on the beach. The warm sand on his skin and the sun shining down on him, made Riku feel relaxed.

"Hey! Wake up! It's Sora's job to be the lazy bum around here!"

Riku opened his eyes and saw Kairi standing over him.

"Good morning." Riku said groggily

"Morning? It's past noon."

"Sorry…I didn't get much sleep last night, Kairi."

"Really? What kept you up?" Kairi sat down next to Riku and wait for him to respond.

"Yeah, Riku. It takes a lot to make you loose sleep over something."

Riku turned and saw Sora behind him carrying all the picnic supplies, and as soon as Sora reached his friends, he fell to the ground, exhausted.

Kairi giggled. "I decided to make Sora my lackey today."

"Lackey?" Sora sat up. "More like pack mule. What do you have in these baskets? Bricks?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what's going on Riku?"

Riku sighed. "Last night or well… in the early morning I went out for a walk. I was feeling restless. I walked to the cove we would all play at while we were at my house. Everything was pretty calm for a while, but I was attacked by heartless."

"Heartless?!" Kairi and Sora said this in unison.

'But the doors!" Sora said. "They're all sealed! I even sealed the one here on the islands, like the king said so in his letter. You and Kairi were with me when I did!"

"That's right. Heartless shouldn't be able to come here." Kairi looked worried.

"But these heartless were different…they were stronger." Riku thought about mentioning the image of the organization member, but decided not to worry his friends anymore. "But don't worry. We'll be okay as long as we keep out eyes peeled for anything unusual."

"Yeah…you're right, Riku." Kairi said, some of her worry being relieved.

"I just hope it was a one time thing." Sora rubbed his head. "I mean we just got home. I want to wait before we have another adventure,"

Kairi sighed. Riku picked up on Kairi's sadness and changed the subject.

"Alright, we'll stay alert, so now lets just enjoy the day and this lunch. Then later we can start teaching Kairi how to fight."

"What?" Kairi looked up at Riku from the basket of food she was unloading.

"Well, if you get ambushed somewhere without me or Sora you might want to know a little more about how to fight."

"Alright then." Kairi smirked. "It could be fun to kick Sora's butt."

Riku laughed. "Yeah, he's not too hard to beat."

"What?!" Sora looked at his friends. "Come on why are you guys so mean to me?"

"Because you make it too easy." Riku reached over and grabbed Sora in a headlock and began giving the brunette a noogie.

"Gah! Riku! Stop it!" Sora tried to squirm his way free from Riku's grip but to no avail. Riku soon released him and gave a smile. "Like old times."

Sora shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, like old times."

"Okay, guys." Kairi said. "Let's eat this stuff before…it… gets…" Kairi's eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Kairi?" Sora said mischievously "Cat got your tongue?"

Kairi raised her hand and pointed down the beach behind the two boys. Sora and Riku turned around and saw a figure standing at a distance down the beach in an organization cloak watching them. Riku stared at the figure. Was this the one he saw in the reflection?

Sora stood up and called out. "Hey! Who are you!? Show yourself!"

The nobody didn't respond or even move. Riku studied it. It had a smaller build so it could be too much older than they were or maybe even the same age. Also the was the cloak fit the nobody was different. It's shoulders weren't broad, instead they were slender and the nobody had a fairly noticeabe hourglass figure. It reminded him of another nobody.

Riku had to blinked a few times. "A…girl?"

At the word 'girl', the nobody started to panic and looked around itself and then it ran.

"Hey! Wait!" Sora began chasing after it but a dark portal emerged from the ground letting the nobody escape. The portal closed right behind the nobody and Sora looked at the place where it had been.

"That was so…weird." Sora went back to his friends. "Riku I thought there weren't anymore Organization members left."

"There aren't, Sora." Riku was trying to piece things together. "You and me have taken care of all of them, they've all faded into Darkness, except Roxas, but he's with you."

Kairi sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Why now? Why can't they leave us alone?"

"I don't know." Riku said. "But we'll figure-." Riku noticed a large dark spot creeping along the sand. Suddenly it jumped up towards the group and took the form of a neo-shadow heartless. "Look out!"

Riku summoned his keyblade and destroyed the creature with a single slash.

"Riku over here!"

Riku looked around and saw that Sora had already summoned his blade and was dealing with three heartless. Kairi got up, summoned her keyblade, and went to help Sora. As soon as Riku turned back around another two heartless jumped on him. Riku fended them off and began fighting another group of heartless with his friends. These heartless were just as strong as the ones Riku had to fight earlier, but it seemed like the more they fought them off more of them came.

After almost fifteen minutes of fighting, the trio was about to drop. They had been fighting nonstop, but the heartless wouldn't go away. Soon Sora, Riku, and Kairi were faced with a full frontal assault by a small army of heartless.

"Guys! What are we going to do?! There's too many of them!" Kairi called out.

"We gotta keep fighting!" Riku called back. "We can't let them over run the islands again!"

A heartless jumped out at Riku while he said this, but be for it could attack him, Sora fira on it, making it disappear.

"Thanks, Sora."

"Anytime!" Sora grinned and went back to fighting.

None of them noticed the sky above them was turning darker and darker. The clouds swirling high above the island. Something was coming, but it was far from a storm. It was bigger. Suddenly, a large bright light came out from the middle of heartless army. The light was blinding and the trio had to turn away and shield their eyes from it. As soon as they were sure that the light was gone, they looked at what had happened.

The heartless were gone, all off them, but the sky was still dark. The only thing left from the light was a large clear crystal, about fifteen feet tall, sticking out of the sand. The three could only stare at it. They hadn't seen anything like it.

Kairi then began shivering. "It's so cold…"

Kairi was right. The island was now way colder than what it should have been.

"What was that?" Riku muttered under his breath as he rubbed his arms trying to warm up.

Sora didn't make a comment. He ran towards the crystal.

"Sora! Come back!" Kairi yelled.

"Don't worry, Kai. I'll be fine!" The brunette put his hand on the crystal but quickly pulled away. "It's okay, Kairi! It's just ice!"

"Ice?" Kairi and Riku exchanged glances. How could ice take out a large group of heartless?

Sora was about to come back to Riku and Kairi but after he took one step a large crack appeared on the massive piece of ice. Sora's eyes widened and he stood stiff, not wanting to turn around. The crack began to spread and branch out all across the ice, and Sora began running.

"Sora what did you do!" Riku yelled.

"I didn't do anything!" Sora plead

The ice shattered like glass in a thousand different directions. Sora threw himself on the sand and covered his head. Riku grabbed Kairi and laid on the ground over her so she wouldn't be hit. Riku closed his eyes and prepared himself for the ice to stab him, but instead of being hit by icy blades, Riku was hit with ice cold water.

"_Water?"_

When the water stopped coming down, Riku got up and helped Kairi to her feet. There wasn't a trace left of the ice, only wet sand from where it had shattered into water. The sky was beginning to turn blue again and the island was returning to it's original temperature.

Sora cradled his head in his hands. "None of this makes sense."

"When has any of this stuff made sense?" Kairi added.

Riku sighed. "It'll never make sense. Any guesses as to who just helped us?"

"Well, there's King Mickey," Sora began. "Donald, Goofy, Yen Sid, and the guys in Hollow- I mean Radiant Garden."

"But Sora they're all in their own worlds." Kairi said, correcting him. "It would have to be someone who can travel from world to world."

"Not just from world to world, Kairi." Riku said in a serious tone. "But back and forth from the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness and that takes a lot of power."

"So, someone strong." Kairi sighed. "And what about the Nobody? They have to be strong too in order to bring in all of those heartless, right?"

"Right." Riku confirmed. He was starting to get a headache from trying to figure this out.

"Hey, guys, lets go home." Sora said. Riku looked up in surprise. "We got rid of the heartless and it looks like our lunch got ruined, so lets go home, get some food, and write to the King, he might be able to help."

"Sora, how are we going to contact the King?" Kairi asked.

"We'll do what you did to contact me. Send a message in a bottle." Sora grinned.

"It's worth a shot." Riku began making his way back to the dock. "Anyway, Sora's right. Let's go home, just in case that Nobody decides to come back, and we can get some food at my house, okay?" Riku looked back at his friends.

"That sounds great." Kairi gave a small smile and she and Sora joined Riku. "And by the way Riku," Kairi continued. "Thanks for covering me."

Riku smiled. "No problem."

The trio made their way back to their boats and headed back home. Soon after they left the nobody reappeared on the shore and watched the boats sail out of sight. It sighed and sat down on the sand. It took off it's left glove and rolled up the sleeve of it's cloak. From it's hand all the way up to it's elbow was wrapped in bandages, but the nobody had a fresh and rather large cut on the forearm. It pulled out more bandages from a secret pocket and started bandaging itself again. When it was done, it stowed the bandages away again and sighed. It's head hanging down.

"When will they stop?"


	7. Chapter 6

The next day seemed to have ended too soon because, to Riku, it only felt like a few hours before the night came, and he was laying on his bed reading and re-reading the King's letter Kairi had found in a bottle. The only light now in the room came from the lamp on Riku's desk near his bed.

The King's letter had been given to Riku for safe keeping, so it wouldn't be lost forever in the sea of chaos known as Sora's room. Riku, since he had gotten home from work, had been lying on his bed reading the parchment letter that bore the King's seal. He had been looking for something, a clue, a hint, a warning, anything that they might have looked over the first time telling them about Heartless or Nobodies. But the letter remained the same.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi-

Thanks to the three of you the balance between the worlds has been restored. There maybe a few tiny Heartless attacks, but I'm sure they'll die off quickly. But just to be safe Sora needs to close the door to Destiny Islands. Don't alarmed; it's just make sure no more Darkness seeks in to the World of Light.

Again, thank you for everything you've been through. If anything out of the ordinary happens there contact me as soon as possible, and I'll contact you if anything happens here. Hopefully, that won't happen and we can all rest peacefully.

-Mickey

"Hmmm….then maybe Sora accidentally unlocked the door instead because that wasn't a 'tiny Heartless attack'."

Riku racked his brain for an answer, but kept drawing a blank. The only thing he was sure of was that this Heartless attack was defiantly out of the ordinary. He laid the parchment on the desk near his bed, and stared at the ceiling.

"That Nobody…who was it? Or what was it? Since it was in human form, obviously someone who had a strong heart, but girl Nobodies are rare…"

Riku heard a noise coming from his window. It sounded like a pebble hitting his window. He ignored it at first but then the sound came again and again, until it was almost rhythmic. Riku glanced towards his window and saw that it was only beginning to rain. Suddenly there was a flash of light that was followed by a strong deep roll of thunder.

**XXXXXX**

The loud boom of thunder had woken Riku up from his sleep but he was too tired to feel scared about it. He was almost asleep again when Riku felt something jump on his bed.

"Riku…?" Something started shaking him.

Riku opened his eyes and saw that it was Ichigo trying to get his attention. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"What is it, Ichigo?" Riku said groggily.

"I'm scared."

"Of the storm?"

Ichigo nodded and as she did another round of lighting and thunder came. She jumped and gave a small scream. She looked at Riku with large frightened eyes, like a rabbit. "Please, Riku, can I stay with you tonight?"

"Fine, just stay on your side." Riku pulled up the covers so Ichigo could get in.

"Okay, and can you read me a story?"

"What?" Riku watched Ichigo pull up a story book she had brought from her room off the floor. She then crawled in bed beside Riku and handed him the book. "Ichigo, you're six, you can read now. And I'm really sleepy."

"But I like it when you read to me."

"You like it when anybody reads to you." Riku sighed and opened the familiar book. "But if it'll get you to go to sleep."

"Thanks, Nii-chan!" Ichigo pulled the covers up and got close to Riku so she could see the pictures in the book.

"Alright…once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. When she was young her father had died and left her in the care of her wicked step-mother and two spoiled step-sisters."

Riku continued reading and by the time Riku had gotten to Cinderella leaving the ball, both he and Ichigo had fallen asleep.

**XXXXXX**

The rain continued to fall outside, still making soothing pulses on the roof and on Riku's window. Riku had finished composing a letter to the King explaining what had happened, the Heartless, the Nobody, everything, and had laid it on his desk beside the King's. Riku also turned off the lamp, leaving the room completely dark except when the lighting flash outside, and with in a few minutes Riku was asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Riku awoke the next morning with the sun gleaming in his eyes. He quickly turned his head away. Even with his longer hair, the sun's rays still attacked him. Riku sat on the edge of his bed and glanced around his room. Something seemed different. No, something felt different. But his room provided no answers. Everything was where he remembered it being the night before, even the two letters on his desk. Riku shook his head. He got up and went to the bathroom, hoping a shower would relieve him of the feeling.

Today was Riku's day off work, so he wasn't in a rush to get ready this morning. He went downstairs, his hair now put up in a rare ponytail, to make himself some breakfast. Again the house was empty, and Riku didn't seem to mind. He popped some bread in the toaster and when it was done just put one piece of toast in his mouth and the other pieces on a plate. Riku turned to go eat in the sun room but the calendar on the refrigerator caught his attention, especially the current date.

"That's right…today's that day."

How could Riku have forgotten so easily? It wasn't a date he would forget. Ever. It was the anniversary of Ichigo's disappearance. What was he to do? His parents had made Ichigo's room a guest room, but still keeping some elements in there that showed that it was her room, like the picture of him and her. He could go back to the island and just wander the cove and the secret spot where she had left the flowers.

Riku sighed. He loved his sister but today he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to be reminded of her. But how could he not be reminded of her? She had lived here. She had lived. She could still be living…somewhere.

Riku finished his breakfast and hung around the house for an hour or two before he started getting restless. He left for the beach and started walking blindly down the shore. He didn't really care where he went. It didn't seem long though before he reached town, so he went up the Plaza. Maybe if he walked around long enough he would run into someone he knew. Instead he ran into something different.

A flower shop caught Riku's eye, but it wasn't the shop that attracted Riku. It was the flowers the shop had displayed outside, orchids.

**XXXXXX**

Ichigo ran up the path that led from the cove to the beach carrying a bundle of pink and purple flowers in her arms.

"Riku! Riku! Look what I found!" Ichigo ran up to her brother and held the flowers to his face. Riku had to draw back a little to keep himself from being smothered by the silky petals. "Aren't they pretty?"

"Umm…yeah, they're pretty, Ichigo." Riku gently pushed the flowers out of his face and saw Ichigo looking at him with a broad smile. "Umm…where did you find them?"

"A little bit past the cove."

"Ichigo! You can't go past the cove!" Riku was surprised his sister had done this.

"It's okay, Riku!" she pleaded. "I didn't go too far away. I just wanted to see the orchids."

"Orchids?" Riku gave Ichigo a puzzled expression.

"That's what they're called silly!"

**XXXXXX**

Riku walked along the worn path in the cemetery with a bouquet of orchids and lilies in his hand. He kept glancing among the headstones to make sure he didn't miss it. Ichigo didn't have a headstone, since she was never proven to be dead, instead she has a memorial in another section of the cemetery.

The memorial area was clearer and smaller than the cemetery because instead of tall headstones there were flat polished stones marking the ground. Almost all of them had flowers there as well, placed by family members or friends. It had been a while since Riku had been to this place and now, it all felt eerie.

"It feels like I'm walking through a dream."

Riku entered the area cautiously and looked in the direction of where he remembered Ichigo's memorial being. Riku's eyes widened and the bouquet slipped out of his hand. Kneeling at Ichigo's spot was the Nobody, still concealed by it's cloak.

_"What the hell? What's that Nobody doing here again, if it's the same one from the island? What does it want?"_ Riku glared at the figure. _"What does it want here?"_

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" Riku shouted as he broke into a run towards the Nobody.

The Nobody glanced behind it quickly, almost as if it was panicked. Swiftly the Nobody stood straight up and spun around, it's cloak flaring out. As it spun to face Riku white fire swirled up from the ground the Nobody was standing on and completely engulfed the dark figure. Riku had skid to a stop to watch the spectacle in shock. The flames disappeared with in an instant, taking the Nobody along with it.

Riku continued to stare at the place where the white fire had appeared, and it took him a few moments to finally turn away and get the flowers he had dropped. He picked up the bouquet and went to the spot where the Nobody had disappeared. Riku looked down the row and saw that the ground wasn't scorched but instead the grass seemed crystallized with something. Even part of the marker was covered in the substance. Riku went down to the marker to see whose memorial it was. His heart was pounding in his head as he walked down the wide aisle. As he stood where the Nobody had stood and read the marker, Riku's heart sank down to his stomach.

The memorial was indeed Ichigo's. Riku knelt down and felt the ground. The grass and the marker wasn't crystallized but instead covered in frost.

"So…it returned." Riku wiped away the frost from Ichigo's memorial. "Why were they here though? It makes no sense…"

Riku laid the flowers on the marker and read it again carefully.

**In Loving Memory of**

**Ichigo **

**Beloved Daughter and Sister**

"It's been a while, hasn't it, sis?" Riku thought aloud. "You've miss a lot over seven years. You even missed meeting a friend."

Something glinted in the sunlight in the grass at the foot of Ichigo's memorial. Riku tried to ignore it and pass it off as the frost but something about the gleam kept attracting Riku's attention and irritation until he finally looked down. Again his heart skipped a beat.

He reached down and gently picked up a small crystel cross. The cross was made up of clear crystals and had a deep blue gem in the center, and it was on a silver chain. Riku instantly recognized it as Ichigo's necklace.

_"But…I though she was wearing this…when she disappeared…"_

Riku examined the trinket in his hand. The sun seemed to be in perfect condition, and looked as though it hadn't been exposed to any harmful weather. The only damage he noticed was that the necklace was broken near the clasp. Riku closed his hand and gently squeezed the necklace then loosed his grip and stowed it away safely in his pocket.

Riku stood up and began walking out of the cemetery; not caring of the frost had caused his jeans to become wet. They would dry eventually. Riku had other things on his mind, and he would get his answers, one way or another.

_"Ichigo…what's going on?"_


	9. Chapter 8

"Riku! You home?" Kairi called as she knocked on Riku's door. She felt hurried but there was no need to rush. Still she wished Riku would hurry up. "Riku!"

It took a few minutes, but Riku finally came to the door. "Oh, hey, Kairi." He gave her a smile. "What's up?"

"Oh, umm…I was leaving work and the jeweler caught me as I was passing his shop, and told me to give this to you." Kairi dug in her pouch and pulled out a velvet covered box. She handed it to Riku, who looked slightly surprised as he accepted it. "The jeweler said that he gotten to it sooner than he thought."

"Thanks, Kairi" Riku opened to door wider. "Can you stay for a while? Sora came over to play some video games, and since you brought me this, I have something I need to tell you guys."

"Sure, I can stay for a while." Kairi said but her mind screamed that she would rather stay for hours. Her eyes were glued to the box in Riku's hand now. Kairi hadn't opened the box, in fear of something happening to it. She was curious why Riku was at the jewelry store in the first place, but now she was more curious as to what he had to tell them.

She followed Riku upstairs to his room where Sora sat nonchalantly on the floor with a game controller in his lap. He looked up at Kairi and smiled. "Hey, Kai, I didn't know you were coming."

She giggled as she sat on Riku's bed. "Me either." Kairi's eyes continued to watch the velvet box.

Sora also noticed the box Riku had and his face showed his curiosity. Still he tried to keep the air light. "So, what's in the box, Riku? You gotta girlfriend now?" The brunette gave him a broad grin.

"Unfortunately, for you Sora, I don't." Riku sat down in his computer chair and opened the box. Kairi watched Riku pull something out but she couldn't tell what it was.

Then Riku held out his hand let a silver necklace with a clear and blue crystal cross dangle from his fingers. He held the necklace out more towards Sora, whose eyes had grown wide, than Kairi. "Do you remember this, Sora?" Riku said in a serious tone.

"Yeah…" Sora nodded. "That was Ichigo's, right? But how did it get here? How did you find it?!"

Kairi's eyes now widened on the crystal cross. She felt as if she had been turned to stone by the sound of Ichigo's name, and felt heavy.

"I found it by Ichigo's memorial at the cemetery." Riku said. "And there's more." He then told Kairi and Sora of the Nobody he had seen, how it had disappeared leaving the frost, and the necklace. "The weird part was that the necklace was broken. Right about here." He showed his friends the place where the jeweler had made his hardly noticeable repair on the chain.

Kairi fiddled with her own necklace and thought for a moment. "That's really close to the clasp… maybe it had been yanked off whoever's neck was wearing."

Riku turned to her. "That's what I was thinking too, Kai."

"But why would a Nobody have Ichigo's necklace?" Sora piped in.

Riku put the necklace back in the box and sat it on his desk. "I…I don't know. That's been driving me crazy."

Kairi gave Riku a sympathetic look. This couldn't be easy on him. Getting the first sign of his sister in years, and then not knowing where it came from or who had it. She racked her brain for something to help her friend, but nothing seemed to come to her.

"Hey…what if it wasn't a Nobody?" Sora said, sounding slightly unsure.

"Wasn't a Nobody?" Kairi repeated as she turned to Sora. "But Riku said that it was in an Organization cloak."

"Yeah, but Nobodies only go through portals made of Darkness." Sora said, more sure of himself. "Right, Riku?"

"That's right." Riku had a serious look plastered on his face. "The one in the cemetery went through a Light portal, even if it did leave some frost, and the Nobody on the island left through a Darkness portal."

"So…we're dealing with two different people?" Kairi looked to Riku for an answer.

"Yes," Riku sighed. "A Nobody and then someone who can travel through Light."

"Maybe it was the person who helped us back on the island." Sora suggested. "You said that there was frost left from the portal."

"Right…ice." Riku looked at both of his friends. "It looks like we'd better keep a closer eye out for anything unusual. Who knows what can happen next, so be careful guys."

"Okay, Riku." Kairi gave Riku a smile of reassurance. She could tell that even after all of these years, Riku still acted like an older brother. It made Kairi feel like she was cared for and protected.

Kairi and Sora left a little later after a few more rounds of video games. Riku felt a bit lonely after his friends headed home, but he would see them tomorrow. It was no big deal. He locked Ichigo's necklace away in her nightstand by her bed in her room. The necklace was her's and that's where it belonged. Riku didn't tell his parents about his discovery, fearing that that they might get upset, not believe him, or both. Sometimes things like this were best kept to your self. Now, Riku was lying on his bed, pondering over what he and his friends had discussed.

"A Nobody and someone trying to help us. Some who knows Ichigo…" Suddenly, Riku felt his spirits rise. "Or maybe that was…her." He quickly pulled them back down. "If that was Ichigo, she would have shown herself."

Riku slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would clear his head.

"She would have come home." He thought to himself. "She would have come home."

The shower didn't do much for Riku. He felt fresher but his mind was still clogged with confusion of what was going on. Feeling slightly defeated, Riku started making his way back to his room wearing only his baggy jeans, since it was too hot to wear a shirt that night, and his towel was draped around his shoulders to keep water from dripping from his hair.

Riku was about to reach for the doorknob, but he heard something coming from inside.

"What the hell?"

Riku cracked the door open enough for him to see inside, and a sliver of light fell upon his face and in the dim hallway. Inside his room was the Nobody, at least Riku thought it was, franticly pacing around the room. It then started opening drawers, and pulling things out, not caring where they landed on the floor.

"Where is it?! Where is it?!" The Nobody said in a very girl-like voice. "I saw him take it!" It then moved to Riku's desk and was throwing paper out of the drawers.

Silently, Riku summoned his keyblade. He knew it was looking for Ichigo's necklace, but why? It was just a normal necklace. Riku placed his hand on the door and after a few moments he burst into the room. The door making a loud thud as is it made contact with the wall. He held his keyblade straight out, pointing straight at the Nobody, who looked 'scared' after being caught off guard.

"What do you want?" Riku said coldly as he moved forward. The Nobody didn't respond It took a few steps back and stumbled as it stepped on a hoodie but gained it's footing back before it could fall. Riku became irritated. "What do you want, Nobody!" He bellowed. "I heard you talk, so don't act like you can't!"

A gasp was the only thing that escaped through the Nobody's mouth before it had conjured a dark portal to transport it wherever it pleased. Riku tossed his towel to the ground and looked around the room. He went to his closet and opened it, but the Nobody was gone. Then a new sound caught his ears attention. It was a tapping noise coming from his window, but this time he was sure it wasn't the rain. Riku turned around, and he watched six Heartless and a couple of Dusks appear in his room, either by slipping under the window or through their own portal.

"Perfect…" Riku growled and he charged at the creatures. He attached and blocked, trying to cause as little damage to his room as possible. The last thing he needed was to have his room destroyed.

The battle didn't last too long, and when it was over, Riku straightened himself up and dropped his keyblade, that vanished before it hit the ground. He picked up his papers and stacked them on his desk. The rest he left on the floor, he could get it later. Riku then sat back down in his computer chair, and propped his elbows on the desk and buried his head in his hands.

"It doesn't make sense…"


	10. Chapter 9

Riku held off on sending his letter to the King in case something new happened. He also slept very little over the next few days, and after he told Sora and Kairi, they joined his sleeplessness. This Nobody had broken into one of their houses looking for something personal, who knew if it would come back to try again. Why look into their personal lives though? To find a soft spot, a weakness? What about the ice mage? If the mage was an ally to the keyblade wielders, why would they hide or not explain what was going on? These questions plagued the friends every night as they constantly looked at the night sky, watching for the terrible dark storm that had separated them once to return, before exhaustion forced them to close their eyes.

Two weeks past, and the Nobody had not been seen. Riku was laying on his bed watching the night sky for any signs of up coming chaos, even if it was the graceful fading of a star. After all, didn't the calm come just before the storm?

_"The Nobody and the mage…one of them will have to come out of the dark sooner or later."_ Riku yawned, and his eye lids became heavy. _"But waiting is getting us no where except closer to becoming insomniacs. But how do you get someone to reveal themselves when they runaway every time they see you?"_

Those were Riku's last thoughts before he fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, Riku went about his usual morning routine to go to work that day. Only when he saw the day's date on the calendar, an idea began forming in Riku's head and he went back up to change out of his work clothes.

Riku sat on the ground as he waited in the cemetery, watching Ichigo's memorial from a distance. Once he had gotten off the phone with his boss, claiming to be sick, Riku went straight to the cemetery. There he waited for a minute, half an hour, an hour, two hours, and more passed, but he was still there.

_"If the mage came on the day Ichigo disappeared…then one of them has to come today."_

Then the moment Riku had been waiting for came. A Dark portal appeared in front of Ichigo's memorial that faded to reveal the Nobody standing there. The keyblade came into Riku's grasp without him thinking about it.

"It's about time." Riku said a loud as he stood up from his spot. The Nobody spun around and faced Riku. Riku kept his keyblade down at his side for the moment, hoping he would appear a little less threatening. "Don't go. I'm tired of this game of hide and seek, and I'm sure you're tired of hiding too."

"Maybe, but who says I was hiding?," The Nobody said in it's high pitched voice "You've been wait for me a long time, haven't you?"

"You can say that." Riku was surprised at the Nobody's behavior. It was totally different from the others. It was calmer, quieter, and it wasn't trying to disappear. "You ran the last time we met, why don't you run now?"

"You said not to go, right? The last time I saw you caught me off guard." The Nobody started playing with one of the chains that extended from the hood of it's cloak.

"And what about the island?" Riku asked "You seemed like you wanted to get out of there pretty fast."

"Hmpt! You're nosy, ya know? I had…other things to do."

"Like report to your leader." Riku thought aloud.

"I never said I had a "superior'" It stopped playing with it's chains, and The Nobody used it's fingers to emphasize the quotation marks and sarcasm it had placed on the word 'superior'. "And I'm not going to tell you."

"Fine, but why are you here?" Riku's eyes narrowed. "Why come to this place? Why this grave?"

"I could ask you the same question, Riku. How did you know I would be here today? What's so special about it?"

"I didn't know. I just had a feeling."

"Heh…Don't lie to me." The Nobody spat. It put it's hands on it's hips and leaned forward a little towards Riku. "It's July 23, your sister's birthday." Riku's eyes widened and his feet were frozen to the ground by the Nobody's words. "You thought I would come to spy on you, when you had your guard down the most."

"How did you…know?"

"There's a lot of things I know about you, Riku. Along with Sora and Kairi." The Nobody stood straight again. "It just takes time."

Anger began to boil just under Riku's skin. How could he let an enemy get that close to him. Riku gripped the handle of his keyblade harder. "But why? What do you get out of it?"

"Again, that's something I'm not going to tell you." Riku glared at the Nobody. "But I will stop beating around the bush about what I want from you."

The Nobody pulled down it's hood and showed that it was in fact a girl. She had a delicate pale face that brought out her dark brown eyes. Her jet black hair was tied in bao buns on her head and covered in black bao covers, most likely made of silk, and had black ribbon extended from them, probably to hold them in place. The only hair that wasn't tied up were some shorter pieces that framed her face. This also brought out her fairness and almost made her glow. Riku almost couldn't believe that this was Nobody for a moment, maybe he was still expecting it to be his sister.

"Who…are you?" Riku said, still partially stunned.

Two silver petal like orbs appeared just above the Nobody's head and floated down, leaving a faint trail of smaller silver orbs. The silver petals landed in her hands and in two flashes of light changed into two opened black metal fans, one had a gold dragon design and the other had a gold phoenix. She flipped them in her hands a few times and then gave Riku a wicked smile.

"My name…is Kaida, and I want a fight."


	11. Chapter 10

Riku was caught off guard by Kaida's request for a fight, but he didn't show it. He examined the girl again, the way she looked, her weapons, even her name. Something was extremely different about this Nobody, and Riku had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"Hey! I just asked you to fight me!" Kaida shouted. "Do you accept or are you afraid of getting beaten by a girl!"

Riku immediately held his keyblade in a duel stance, but Kaida's words struck him as oddly familiar. "I'm not afraid of anything, especially you!"

Kaida's eyes seemed to brighten at the challenge. The promise of a good fight seemed to fill her with some type of joy and the fans began to glow with a white aura from Kaida's 'excitement'. "Alright then! But let's take this somewhere...a little more open."

"What?" Riku was about to question Kaida but before he knew it, his surrounding began to distort and fade. Riku kept alert, making sure he wasn't caught off guard. Within seconds, Riku and Kaida were standing on a beach. Riku studied the new territory and saw that Kaida had only taken him to the cove near his house. He also noticed that the sky was turning grey.

"The boulders make a nice boundary, don't they?" Kaida said cheerfully. "Saves me the trouble of making it myself. Anyway," Her fans began to glow again. "Where were we?"

Silently, Riku went back to his duel stance. His gaze became narrow and icy.

"It's victory or oblivion…"

"Don't hold back." Kaida smirked.

She then swung her arm out holding one of the fans fully open. At first, Riku thought she was going to throw her fan like a boomerang, but the fan was still in Kaida's hand. Instead, she had sent out giant sharp crystals at him like darts and she continued doing this with one fan at a time at random angles causing the shards to go everywhere. The only thing Riku could do was block the crystal with is keyblade and advance toward Kaida.

Riku was only a few feet away from Kaida when she finally hit him with three of her shards. They had only grazed his arms but they still hurt, and he fell back a foot or two. As he gritted his teeth, Riku realized something. The crystal felt extremely cold. Using his peripheral vision, Riku looked on both side of him. As the shards hit the sand, they instantly turned into water, making dots of wet sand all over the cove.

_"There's no way…"_

Gathering his strength, Riku fended off the rest of the ice shards and attacked Kaida head on. He was preparing to slash her right across her abdomen, but she held up her fan in front of him as if to signal him to stop. When Riku swung his blade a huge barrier stopped him in mid-swing and repelled Riku backwards, off his feet, and caused him to land on his back.

"Come on, Riku! You're making this too easy!" The Nobody called as Riku stood up. His glare became colder.

"Ice…that's what got rid of the Nobodies on the island." Riku called back. "That's what was on Ichigo's grave when I caught someone there the last time I visited, but the used a different portal. It was you, wasn't it?!" He sent out a firga spell at Kaida, who quickly deflected it.

"Sorry, Riku, but you got me mistaken for someone with a heart." Kaida responded and her gaze went from overjoyed to serious. "Now fight me!"

Swiftly, Kaida raised her phoenix fan high, keeping it fully open, and her dragon fan down but fully open as well, and began spinning forward with her arms moving like a windmill towards Riku. This sent giant blades of ice hurling at Riku, and he put his keyblade up defensively and supported it with his hand on the flat of the blade. As the ice hit the side of his weapon, Riku was being pushed back further across the sand. All of this happened so fast, he was surprised that he was able to react so well.

Kaida wore a scowl as she sent her last blade. "Riku! I said to-!" She let out a shrill scream as she was hit by a thunder attack Riku had sent out immediately after the last ice blade hit his defense. Kaida was sent back a couple of feet and almost hit one of the boulders.

"I've heard what you had to say." Riku said in a cool voice. "Now, tell me, if it wasn't you who saved my friends or was at Ichigo's grave, then who was?"

"As if I know!" Kaida angrily sent out more ice shards for Riku to deflect.

"You have to know!" Riku lurched forward hoping to get a hit at Kaida, but she moved gracefully out of the way. "They're following you!"

His eyes followed Kaida and he noticed something different. She was so serious, but now her eyes showed something else. She looked scared. But why? Nobodies didn't have hearts, Kaida even admitted that she didn't, and she seemed so thrilled to fight. Why would she be scared of another challenger, if she was scared at all?

The fear in Kaida's eyes quickly vanished and she began throwing blades at Riku again. He quickly put his defense back up.

"Do you think I care?" She sneered. Riku gritted his teeth. Kaida's blows were getting stronger and wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer.

Suddenly, out of the corner of Riku's eye, he saw a dark shadow moving across the boulders. At first Riku thought it was the ice mage, coming to assist him, but this turned out to be false. Instead, a group of heartless appeared and tackled Kaida. More appeared and piled on top of her. Riku was stunned at the heartless' reaction to Kaida. Kaida was working for some other Nobody, wasn't she?

Unable to resist, Riku went to the pile of Heartless and started helping Kaida. Why he did, he wasn't sure. Eventually, Riku began to see Kaida attacking the Heartless. In an effort to free herself faster, Kaida held up her fan like a shield again, and when one of the heartless tried to claw her, the shield sent all of the Heartless and Riku flying. Riku ended up with his face in the sand, but the attack had destroyed all of the Heartless.

Riku jumped up in time to watch Kaida collect herself and scan for other Heartless. A dark portal appeared and Kaida turned to Riku.

"We'll finish this later." She said and then she ran off, pulling her hood back up as she entered her portal.

Riku could only watch her go. He wasn't willing to follow her into whatever world of Darkness she roamed, and risk not being able to return. A few moments passed and Riku's surroundings began to change again. He kept his guard up as he was taken from the cove back to the cemetery.

He looked around the area, but saw that he was alone. The only thing that had changed was the sky. It had gotten darker and threatened to rain. Riku ran back to his car and as soon as he got in, the rain began to pour down. Riku sighed and leaned back in his seat.

_"Kaida…what are you?"_


	12. Chapter 11

The rain continued through the rest of the day and into the night. By the light of his desk lamp, Riku wrote another letter to the King, adding everything that had happened that day. The letter went on to be two pages long and when he was done, Riku leaned back in his chair.

"I feel like I'm missing something, but I've written up everything." Riku sighed. "There has to be something."

So, Riku brought himself back to the deck and pulled out another piece of paper, and just began writing another letter about some things that had been on his mind for a long time. He finished the letter and then put it and the King's letter away.

_"I feel… better after that last letter."_ He thought as he laid out on his bed. _"I don't know why I even wrote it. She won't ever read it."_

The next morning, Riku got up early and went to the beach. The sun was just an orange glow in the sky. He had found two bottles at his house, and there on the shore, Riku carefully slid the letters in the bottles and sealed them with a stopper. Then he threw them out to sea to make sure that they didn't accidently wash back on the island shore. Riku sat on the sand and watched the two bottles float out of sight. He stayed and watched the dawn bring in the day until he had to leave for work.

_"If only getting there was as easy as sending a message in a bottle."_

Riku didn't see Sora and Kairi during the day. In fact, the day seemed to move slow and quietly. It was as if his battle with Kaida had silenced the island from it's normal hurried pace. It felt eerie yet calming and when Riku headed back to the shore after work, the feeling followed him like a shadow.

He sat on the sand watching the sun disappear below the horizon. Where were his letters now? At the bottom of the sea, on another island, in a fish's belly, or were they still traveling? Riku shrugged off the heavy question. After all, He probably wouldn't know the letters fates for a long time.

"Riku!"

Riku spun his head around to see Sora coming his way. The shadow fled from Riku, as Sora sat beside him.

"Hey, man, what's up? I didn't see you yesterday or any today. Has something happened recently?" Sora looked up at his friend.

"Hmm...I guess you could say that." He then began to tell Sora about his run in with Kaida, while he listened with wide eyes. "Then this morning I sent off the letter to the King and haven't seen any sign of her."

"Whoa, so this Kaida girl came here just to pick a fight with you?"

"It looks like it. She didn't say anything about the organization, heartless, Nobodies, or anything else having to do with Kingdom Hearts." Riku stared out over the ocean. "It was weird. She also knew about Ichigo."

Sora looked worried. "You mean she knew you had a sister?"

"No, Sora, she knew her name and that yesterday was her birthday. Kaida also probably knows that Ichigo is either missing or dead." Riku's eyes seemed to become glazed over as he made the comment.

"I know it's smart to know your opponent, but I think she's trying to dig up too much on you if she just wants to intimidate you. And what does Ichigo have to do with any of this?" Now Sora was sounding frustrated. "Why would Kaida want Ichigo's necklace? It's just a normal necklace, right?" Sora stressed the word 'normal'.

"As far as I know it is." Riku replied bluntly. "Ichigo found it tangled up in a tide pool. Someone probably dropped it into the ocean and it floated here and then got trapped in the pool during high tide. The only thing weird about it was that it wasn't rusty, but there are lots of non-rusting metals out there."

Sora sighed. "I thought things were finally over."

"It'll never be over." Riku said. "As long as someone poses a threat to Kingdom Hearts the fight will continue. Only we aren't exactly sure what Kaida's plans are yet, and if they even involve Kingdom Hearts."

"I hope they don't. I'm not sure if I'm ready for another adventure yet, and Kairi…what would happen to her?"

"She'll come with us. We'll stay together or try to find each other." Riku finally looked over at Sora and saw sadness etched across his face. "Is there something else, Sora?"

"Umm…well…" A little color came to Sora's cheeks. "I was hoping to ask Kairi out…on a date sometime, but if we leave again I might not get a chance."

Riku chuckled. "I thought it was something like that." Sora turned away from embarrassment. "But it's about time you did. It's been obvious that you liked her since she came."

"Wha-?!" More color came to Sora's face and he jumped back a little.

"Don't worry. You'll get your chance, Sora. It might be -." Riku was cut off by another voice from behind.

"Sora! Riku!"

The boys turned around and saw Kairi smiling and waving at them from a distance.

"Sooner than you thought." Riku concluded his earlier sentence. Sora seemed to turn pale. "Come on, Sora. I have to fill her in on what's happened and you need to ask her out before I do."

Sora's head spun towards Riku. "What?! But I thought that…"

Riku got up and started walking towards Kairi. "Hurry up, Sora, I'm getting a head start."

Sora leaped up and ran to Kairi, almost knocking her over. The three left the beach together and went to dinner together. The shadow that had followed Riku all day had left him, but he knew it was only lurking somewhere, waiting to pounce on him at the right moment.


	13. Chapter 12

Kaida's pale face hadn't been seen in weeks, but Riku kept his guard up. The shadow was still lurking somewhere, and waiting for the right moment to strike. Kaida had said that they would finish their fight another time, but when was she planning to fight him again? Not knowing made Riku anxious, but not afraid. After all, one couldn't fear the Darkness, Riku knew this lesson well.

It was almost midnight but Riku was still awake. He tried to sleep, but alas he just laid there on his bed, staring out into the sky. His window was open to relieve his room from the summer heat. Outside he could hear the waves hitting the shore, but they didn't give off the same drowsy effect they had on the island the last time he was there.

Everything was so quiet. Riku tried to close his eyes again, but they quickly snapped open again to a loud humming noise. He looked around to find the source of the noise, but Riku didn't hear it again. The dim glow from his cell phone that sat on his desk caught Riku's eye. He picked it up, flipped it open, and saw that it was a text message from Kairi.

**Riku, meet me and Sora on the island tomorrow. I'm planning another picnic.**

Nothing was unusual about the message, but Kairi didn't usually send texts this late at night. Then again, Kairi could have forgotten to tell him earlier. Riku responded that he would be there. Kairi would normally send something that said 'great' and 'good night' in response, but no other message came.

_"That's odd. Kairi must be pretty tired."_

Eventually Riku drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, Riku got dresses and set out in his boat for the island. It was past noon as he approached the island dock, but he noticed that his friends' boats were not there.

_"I guess I'm the first one to arrive again."_

Riku docked his boat and started walking on the beach. He kept a look out for his friends coming, and he was tempted to text Kairi to ask where she was. Something didn't seem right about this.

"Hey, Riku, why don't you try looking over here?" It was Kaida's voice. Riku looked around but saw no one. "Look UP!"

Riku obeyed and saw Kaida looking down at him from the bridge that connected the beach shack to the place where the paupu trees grew.

"Good boy, now roll over!" Kaida snickered.

"I'm not your dog, Kaida! Where are my friends!?" Riku shouted.

"Beats me. All I care about is you."

"You mean finishing our fight."

"Of course, but what's the fun in being all business?" Kaida smiled "Don't fret. Your friends won't be coming anytime soon."

Riku glared at the girl. "What are you talking about?"

"I sent the text message." Kaida smiled and pulled out Kairi's cell phone from her cloak.

"How the hell did you get that?!"

"I stole it. Duh..." Kaida studied it in her gloved hand. "But now I'm done with it." The cell phone disappeared in a small dark portal. Gracefully, Kaida jumped down to the beach and met Riku's eyes. "Maybe next time I should steal Sora's phone if this fight continues. It'll be much easier to get to."

"There won't be a next time!" Riku said coolly. "You want to fight me, fine, but leave my friends out of this."

"Aww, come on, Riku." Kaida pouted her lips. "I'm just having a little fun."

"No, you're trying to make me unleash my dark side."

"Actually, I'm not, but that sounds like fun too." A grin began to spread on her face. Over head the sky became cloudy and grey and the island became covered by a shadow. Riku glanced out over the sea and saw that just a few miles out the area was sunny and bright. He looked up and saw that the storm clouds were only circling the island.

Riku's cold eyes fell on Kaida once again. "What do you want? I'm not the keyblade master! What do you get out of fighting me?"

"I'm still not telling you but…," Before Riku could even see it; Kaida summoned her fans and charged at Riku. She kicked him in the stomach and used her fans to propel him further away. Riku gasped for breath as he tried to pick himself up, sand clinging to his hair and body.

"Maybe I don't get anything out of this." Kaida smirked. "Maybe I'm fighting you… just for kicks."

Suddenly Kaida's attention went away from Riku to something else. Something behind him.

"Riku!"

Riku turned his head around and saw Sora and Kairi coming towards him with their keyblades in hand from the dock. How did they know he was here?

Kaida's smirk turned into a scowl and her fans began to glow brightly. "NO INTERUPTIONS!"

Ice shot up into the air from the ground around Kaida and Riku, making a circle, a boundary for them to fight in. The wind, which was abnormally cold due to the ice, began to pick up. Kaida's cloak flared around her as Riku summoned his keyblade.

"Come on, Riku, let's play!" Kaida shouted.

Riku set himself up in his duel stance, his eyes icy and as serious as ever. "Ready whenever you are."


	14. Chapter 13

Ice rose from the sand in large jagged shards towards Riku with only a swift wave of Kaida's fans. Riku dodge rolled to avoid them but the ice kept coming towards him. Riku continued to dodge the ice lead it close to Kaida, so when the ice stopped, he pushed him himself hard off the ground to give him some extra speed and strike Kaida's side. Kaida let out a gasp as the blade stuck her and she hit the sand.

She quickly picked herself up; even though she was still trying to catch her breath, and gave Riku a death stare. He kept his guard up and his eyes never left Kaida or her fans.

"You need more than that, Riku!"

Kaida shot straight toward Riku and the metal fans clashed with the keyblade. The force of the attack repelled Kaida backwards, but as soon as she was stable, large ice shards came hurling towards Riku. Again all Riku could do was guard himself from the sharp edged ice.

_"I can take her out!"_ Riku shouted in his head. _"But if I do, I have a chance of making her fade into Darkness. I can't do that. There's something strange about this Nobody and if she has no superior, then I'll need her to stick around to get some answers."_

Kaida leaped forward in an attempt to strike him with an ice blade, but Riku got out of the way of the attack. He skillfully moved behind Kaida and swung the hilt of his keyblade into the small of Kaida's back. This caused her to hit the sand face first. Kaida stood up, pretending she hadn't just been attacked, and wiped the sand from her face. Her anger seemed to grow.

"Riku!"

Riku's guard shot up and Kaida pounced at him. Without thinking, Riku pulled his keyblade up sideways and used his free hand to support the other end of it as Kaida's fans clashed with his blade. Kaida pounded at the keyblade with what seemed like all of her force. Riku kept his grip tight and between the two fans hitting, he used his keyblade like the handle of a whip and string of lighting bolts came down. Kaida flipped backward to avoid the lighting and Riku panted. He wasn't used to using magic attacks very much.

"What did I tell you earlier?!"

The fans clashed again with the keyblade, ice began to form where the fans made contact. Kaida bounced backwards from Riku, but she quickly came back.

"Don't go easy on me!"

The fans hit once more. The ice grew on the blade, and Kaida ricocheted off the blade. Then she came back, her eyes locked on Riku.

"Especially because I'm a girl!"

_"What?"_ Riku could hardly compute his thoughts as Kaida, instead of attacking with her fans, kicked Riku in the stomach, causing him to lose his breath and blackout.

_"Why did that sound so familiar?"_

**XXXXXX**

Two driftwood swords clashed as Riku blocked Ichigo's attack. That's how the whole fight had gone so far. Ichigo would attack and Riku would block. Sora even fell asleep on the beach In Ichigo's whole body, Riku could tell she was getting frustrated.

Finally, Ichigo backed away and shouted at her brother. "Riku, stop it!"

Riku lowered his sword and looked at Ichigo with a half confused expression. Had he tired her out already? No, he hadn't. He noticed his sister's grip on her sword was tight and her free hand was in a tight fist, all of her knuckles were turning white. Was she mad that she couldn't hit him?

"You aren't really fighting me!" Ichigo cried angrily. "You aren't even trying!"

Riku was taken back by his sister's remarks. "But Ichigo I-!"

"No buts!" Ichigo interrupted. "You said you would teach me how to fight! So," Ichigo got back in her fighting stance. "Don't go easy on me because I'm a girl!"

Riku also went back into his fighting stance and looked at his sister with new eyes. She always seemed to fragile with her small body and when she played with dolls with Selphie. Now, she seemed to be a different girl, a much stronger girl.

"Okay then, I won't hold back!" Riku said as he charged towards his sister.

**XXXXXX**

"Let go of me!"

Those words were the first Riku heard as he opened his eyes after blacking out for a few seconds. He saw a dark figure holding on tightly to Kaida's arm as she tried to break free.

"You don't have any more time left to spend here, Kaida!" The figure said in a deep bass voice, obviously a man's voice. Riku could see and hear the ice arena Kaida had set up begin to crack, and the black shapes of the heartless moving.

"I do have time! Just let me go now!" Kaida continued to try and pull away, but the figure wouldn't let go.

"Kaida, it's not worth it!" The man begged. "Whatever it is you're trying to do!"

The heartless grew more excited as the ice cracked even more around them. Riku picked himself up off the sand, and was beginning to examine the figure holding on to Kaida. He noticed he was looking at the back of the man's cloak. A red cloak. Also the man's head was wrapped in red bandages.

Without thinking Riku began to shout out. "Ansem! DiZ!"

The man ignored Riku. All of his attention was on Kaida and the soon to be destroyed ice walls.

"Kaida! We must leave now!" The figure shouted.

This time Kaida obeyed and the usual black mass began to consume both Kaida and the man holding on to her. Riku ran forward to try and follow them wherever they were going, but the portal was nothing more than a black wisp when he reached it. Suddenly, all around him, the ice shattered. Riku prepared himself for the flood of heartless, but as the ice broke the heartless began to disappear.

"Riku! Are you alright?"

Riku turned to where his name was being called and saw Sora and Kairi still together. It made Riku feel a little easier knowing that his friends were okay. The friends reunited and Riku now had the task of recounting what he had just seen. Even though he didn't quite believe it himself.


	15. End of Act I

Again Riku found himself staring at his bedroom ceiling that night. His window was closed, so the sound of the waves was blocked out and only the sound of nothingness reached Riku's ear. Around his neck was Ichigo's necklace, the cross rested on his bare chest and gave off a shine in the moonlight. Riku didn't have a reason for wearing his sister's necklace. It was just something he felt he should do. His sister was gone, but that didn't mean he had to act as though she never existed.

He had put it on just a few minutes ago, and the metal was still cold against his skin, except the cross. The cross was warm as if someone had been holding it just moments before he picked it up. Riku didn't have to think too hard to figure out who had been handling it. It was Kaida. After all, wasn't that what she was looking for when she ransacked his room? But why she left it was still a mystery to him.

Riku's eyes turned to the window and studied the sky. It was a clear night, the stars were fully visible and the moon was bright enough to allow anyone who walked on the beach at night to go without a flashlight.

"Kaida…" Riku whispered. "You're out there somewhere. Aren't you? Will you come back again?"

Riku's eyes, heavy with drowsiness, closed and he began to enter a deep sleep.

Kaida stood over Ichigo's memorial, carefully studying the engravings in the stone. Her dark eyes seemed distance and lost in thought. Silently and suddenly, Kaida vanished in her portal and reappeared on a dark beach. The shore was filled with rocks of odd shapes and curves and the only source of light came from the solitary moon that cast a solemn reflection on the calm water. This was the the Dark Meridian, the end of the road to darkness.

She faced the sea. The moon. The light. Kaida didn't want to see the dark night that hung behind her and again she became lost in thought. A tear ran down her cheek.

"That was foolishly risky, even you knew that."

Kaida spun around and saw the man in red standing close by. She quickly brushed away the stray tear and faced him.

"DiZ…Ansem…" Kaida said in a hushed voice.

"That depends on who I'm talking to." He said coolly. "Is it Kaida or Ich-?"

"No! It's Kaida!" She shouted. "Ichigo is dead!"

"Then I am DiZ." He remained calm, despite Kaida's outburst. "Kaida, why did you choose that name?"

"Because it's my name." Kaida's voice became harsh. "You're the one who gave it to me, so don't complain about it."

"I did, didn't I?" DiZ chuckled and shook his head. "It was foolish of me to do that too."

"You gave me a name. I'm sure that you've done worse."

"No, it's just as bad. It encouraged you to continue this charade." DiZ said almost as if he was talking to himself.

"Charade? You think I'm a little kid playing a game!" Kaida was becoming angry again. "I'm Kaida and Ichigo is dead, a ghost. She's been dead for a long time."

"Then where did you come from?" DiZ's single revealed eye was glued on Kaida.

Kaida adverted her eyes. "I don't know. I woke up in Twilight, so I guess I came from Twilight."

"Twilight?" DiZ said quizzically

"I saw Ichigo die. It was Twilight, and then I was in the Darkness." Kaida pulled her hood over her head.

"That cloak will do you no good in that form." DiZ said. "It doesn't hide the scent of Nobodies. They will continue to track you like a pack of dogs."

"Well, that's just grand." She said as sarcastically as possible.

"But there is a way you can save yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"You say that Ichigo is dead, but she's not." Kaida looked up at DiZ as he spoke. "You know that."

"I'm sorry, DiZ, but I saw her die right in front of me." She sighed. "And even if I could bring her back, Ichigo is a ghost to people in two worlds, people who cared about her. Where will she go if they have already buried her?"

DiZ also sighed. "Ichigo will know where to go once she figures out what she has to do. Just like you need to figure out what you need to do." Kaida was silent and turned back towards the water. "You know where to find me, Kaida."

DiZ disappeared in his usual manner of dissolving into pixels and again Kaida was alone on the shore. She stood there in silence for a few moments then walked up to the water and sat on the sand. Kaida took off her hood, even though she had just put it on to hide herself from DiZ's harsh analyzing eye. She took a deep breath of the salty air and exhaled.

"The waves do sound the same, Riku, but I'm glad you get to hear those waves instead."

~End of Act I~


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Alright, I decided to go ahead and start posting up Act II of AGP! Hope you guys enjoy and please give me some reviews. I would like to know how I'm doing with this story and what you guys think of it!**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The sun shone brightly upon the Disney Castle as Mickey walked around the garden. He admired the sculpted bushes around the area. Goofy lay on the neatly trimmed grass in front of a bush sculpted like the castle taking a nap like usual. It had been over a year of peace between the worlds, and it was nice to be home for so long. It was nice to see the stars, all of the stars, in the sky at night. It was nice to see everything so calm.

"Your Majesty!" Donald called with his squawky voice. Mickey looked back to see his friend waddling as fast as he could towards him.

"Your Majesty, you called for me this morning?" Donald gave a salute to Mickey.

"Yes, I did, Donald." Mickey began walking with Donald at his side. "I've been noticing something kind of strange happening lately."

"Strange, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, I've noticed that the heartless and the nobodies have been acting strange."

"What!" Donald's eyes grew wide and his exclamation caused Goofy to shift but not wake up. "Are there more of them? Are they getting stronger?"

"No." Mickey said calmly, not very surprised at Donald's reaction. "Their numbers are dropping. They're leaving worlds and going someplace else. It's like they're being called back."

"Your Majesty, are you sure that isn't a good thing?" Donald asked with a worried look in his eyes.

"I'm not sure, Donald, but I just have this feeling."

"Oh, Your Majesty!" Donald almost begged. "Please don't get that feeling. Things have been so good over the last year."

"Perhaps they've been too good." said Mickey, with a hint of sadness.

Now the two friends had reached the door to the audience chamber. Using a special knock, Mickey opened the door. A large blast of cold air, as if the king had opened a large freezer, came out. Both Mickey and Donald took a few steps back from the room, unsure of what had happened, but after a moment or two Mickey went forward into the room. Then he stopped in his tracks after just taking a few steps inside.

"Your Majesty?" Donald called. "Is something wrong?" Donald walked into the room and also stopped and stared beside his king at the spectacle.

The audience chamber was covered in ice. Not just thin sheets of ice, but mounds of it. Some of the ice was about the size of a small glacier. It covered the entire floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Donald swallowed hard as he gazed up at the large icicles that hung above him. The only place that was clear was the ice crusted carpet path that lead to the throne on the other end of the room, where a dark figure sat.

"Come on, Donald." With his head high, Mickey walked the path toward the figure in his throne with Donald close beside him with his wand at the ready.

With every step they took the carpet crunched and the figure grew in detail. It took the shape of a young girl with her black hair was pulled into two bao buns that were held in place by black bun covers. What the king thought was a black cloak, turned out to be a black sleeveless dress with a slightly low v-neck, the only color in it was the white trim at the bottom, the neckline, around the arms, and two lines around the waist. The girl sat in the throne nonchalantly, her back leaning up against one arm of the chair, one of her legs over the arm, and the foot of her other leg rested next to it, this caused her knee to bend and reveal the high slit in the skirt of the dress, and also the black thigh length tights or socks the girl was wearing with her matching shoes. She was tossing a fan in one of her hands, she seemed more focused on that than him approaching her, and another one in her other hand. Mickey only had to see the bao buns to recognize the girl.

"Kaida." The King's uttering of her name made her stop throwing her fan, and set her dark eyes on the mouse and the duck. "Why are you here? I thought you disappeared."

"You know her, your Majesty?" Donald whispered to Mickey, wasn't sure how to react.

"Not really, I've only met her once before." Mickey answered, his eyes remained on Kaida.

"I've been around, Mickey." Kaida said with a small wicked smile. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten me though."

"WHAT? You should show more respect for the king!" Donald squawked, waving his wand around angrily.

"Calm down, firecracker, I just called his Highness by his name." Kaida said with a smirk.

"WAAAK!" Donald was outraged and began jumping up and down. This only made Kaida start to giggle.

"Donald, calm down!" Mickey tried to persuade his friend, but to no avail.

"You think it's funny, don't you?" said Donald. "I'll get rid of all this ice you made! Then we'll see who's laughing! FIRE!" Donald turned to the large ice shard beside him as he yelled the command, and a burst of fire came forth from the tip of his wand. The fireball hit the ice, but instead of melting the ice, the ice absorbed the fire and grew in size. "WHAT? What's going on! FIREG-"

"It's no use!" Kaida laughed. "My ice is made of a bit tougher magic than your fire."

"No!" Donald cried, his face getting red. "There's no way! You're just a little girl!"

One Kaida's fan went up in a flash and was aimed at Donald's neck. "You'd better watch who you're calling a little girl, Duckie." Her voice was as cold as the ice around her.

"Kaida!" Mickey shouted. "That's enough! Get rid of this ice and tell me why you're here!"

Both of Kaida's fans vanished. "Oh, I thought…" Kaida paused for a second and her eyes lingered on Donald. "your Majesty," Kaida emphasized the word "Majesty" as much as possible. "would enjoy my decorations."

With a simple snap of her white fingers the ice shattered. Donald screamed and tried to protect the King as the ice came from every direction. Mickey himself was shocked at the display of power. Even he didn't expect such a reckless action to occur, but he also didn't know what to expect from Kaida. Both Mickey and Donald waited for the ice to hit but it never did. Instead it rained. They looked around and saw water coming down like rain, leaving about an inch of water on the floor of the chamber. When they looked at Kaida, she was still remained cold and calm, resting her head in her hand. Obviously, not phased by any what she had done.

Mickey and Donald straightened up, the room was still cold and Mickey could feel the hair on his neck stand up.

"Now," Mickey said in a strong voice. "what do you want?"

"I needed to give you this." Kaida reached into her dress and pulled out a folded piece of paper and threw it to Mickey like a throwing star.

Mickey caught the paper in his hand. He opened it and saw that it was a letter from Riku. The paper it was written on was worn from a mix of time and travel.

"Where did you get this? No…how long have you had this, Kaida?" He finally asked.

"A while." She answered frankly. "But you need it now."

"Need it for what?" Mickey's voice was stern.

"To know that you need to get your Keybladers here." Kaida answered.

Mickey glanced at the letter then back at Kaida. "Riku said there was a girl in an organization cloak, I'm guessing that's you. You've been noticing things too, Kaida. Are you asking me for their help?"

"No, I'm asking you to save them. I've done what I can." Kaida again seemed to not be paying attention to Mickey or Donald. "Look, get them off the islands, Mickey."

"You have to tell me what's going on first, Kaida.!" Mickey exclaimed. "I can't just take people from their home world with no good reason to go on a quest I don't even know about!"

"They aren't going on a quest!" Kaida shouted. "They aren't going to do anything. Riku, Sora, and Kairi…they're in trouble. Those islands aren't going to be around much longer and unless you get them out of there, they'll either disappear with the islands or be separated in the world of Darkness again, you choose."

The room was silent for a few minutes before Mickey finally responded. "I'll get them off the island, Kaida, but you have to tell me what's going on."

"I…I can't, Mickey." Kaida's eyes met the mouse's. "This is my problem. I'm just making sure that at least the Keybladers and the princesses are safe." Kaida began to fade into her dark portal.

"But Kaida-!" Mickey reached out as if he could stop her.

"Just get the Keybladers off those islands. Promise me!" She remained calm, even when she was begging him.

Mickey sighed. "I promise."

Kaida was gone just after Mickey made his promise, but he knew she had heard him. Now he stared at Riku's letter, unsure what he was to make of anything, or if he had should have promised Kaida anything. He was right. Things had been too calm.


	17. Chapter 16

Riku sat on the dock as he watched Sora and Kairi fight with their wooden swords on the beach. It was summer again and during the months that followed Riku's last fight with Kaida, she had not been seen again. It had been a good peaceful year. The first year they had spent together on the islands after everything that happened with Kingdom Hearts nearly two years ago.

Sora had kept the black attire look he had gotten from the good fairies at Yen Sid's by wearing a black shirt and denim shorts, and Kairi now wore a white tank top with a short red skirt. Her hair had also gotten a bit longer. The two of them started dating just before school started. As for Riku, he wore a dark pair of jeans and a white sleeveless shirt with a popped collar that was able to be zipped all the way up with a blue trimming. Although he kept the shirt unzipped a little less than half way revealing that he still wore his sister's necklace. He continued to let his hair grow out but kept his bangs from growing and blending with the rest of his hair.

School was hard to start back but it wasn't too bad. It was good to see everybody's faces again, despite the constant streams of questions about where they had been. Eventually, the questions and rumors calmed down and things began to fall back to the way they were before they had left. With every sunset, Kingdom Hearts was becoming a distant memory. Although, every now and then, something would come up and remind them of the adventure, for Riku it was the necklace he now wore.

It also reminded Riku that he never received a reply from the King to his letter he had sent last year. Sora was concerned at King Mickey's silence, but Riku reasoned that the letter simply couldn't reach him now that the doors were shut. The unanswered letter went back into the depths of their minds.

The wood clashed as Sora blocked one of Kairi's attacks. Swiftly, Sora counter attacked and knocked Kairi off balance, causing her to fall on the sand.

"Looks like I won this round, Kai!" Sora said with his broad grin.

"Not so fast!" Kairi swung her sword at Sora's ankles, also causing him to be knocked off balance and fall as well. A shocked expressed was clearly painted on Sora's face.

Riku laughed. He never got tired of his friends' teasing each other. It made things feel like they were before. The simplicity of everything of days like this made Riku, feel warm, happy. Their lives would never be the same after wheat they had been through, but this, being able to be together on their little island, was better than the other possibilities. Riku's laughter slowly stopped as he began to notice the sky above them turning dark.

"_Rain clouds? But there wasn't any rain predicted for today, I think. Maybe it's just a sudden summer storm." _

Riku studied the sky longer, and saw that it was getting darker very fast. As Sora helped Kairi to her feet, they also noticed the sudden change in lighting. The heavy dark clouds blanketed the sky for as far as they could see. Suddenly a sheet of rain began to fall and come their way.

"Hurry! To the shack!" Sora called.

The rain was over them as they ran to the sea shack, laughing as they were pelleted by the falling drops. Once inside the shack, Riku shut the door to keep the rain and the cold out. The last thing they needed was a cold to make them miserable during summer, that was what they had jobs for.

"Man, this is the one thing I hate about summer. Stupid storms..." Sora grumbled.

"Yeah, but the good thing is that they don't last long." Kairi smiled trying to show the bright side. "So, we should be out of here in no...," Her sentence trailed off. "time."

There was a sound coming from the door. _Tip! Tip! Tip! _The rain beat against the tin roof as well adding to the volume.

"Wow...it's really coming down out there." Sora commented, taking a seat on the stairs.

"We'll need to leave as soon as we can so we won't be stuck here for the night." Riku said cooly.

Sora chuckled slightly. "Heh...yeah people will think we've disappeared again."

"That's not funny Sora." Kairi snapped.

"Woah! Sorry, Kairi. I was just trying to make a joke that's all."

"I know." Kairi sighed. "I know...sorry Sora" She went and sat by Sora.

After those few moments, the _Tip! Tip! Tip! _at the door had changed. Riku listened closely. _Scratching? What would be out there scratching? No...it wouldn't...it can't._

"Guys, stay back." Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hands.

"Riku what are you doing?" Kairi asked nervously as Riku opened the door. Three shadow heartless jumped inside but were all taken out in one swing of Riku's keyblade.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sora summoned his keyblade just as more heartless came in. He and Riku quickly finished them off.

"Come on! To the secret place!" Riku shouted. He ran out, checking over his shoulders to be sure that his friends were behind him.

The three began running for their secret cave, the place where their world's door was. All of them hoping it would be open and they could escape. Before they could reach the path leading to the door, the sound of a barking reached their ears.

Riku turned around and scanned the area, but saw nothing. So, he whistled, and a skinny yellow dog, Pluto, came running up to him, obviously happy to see the trio.

"Pluto?" Sora said. "How did you get here?"

As if he understood Sora's question, Pluto took off back in the direction he came from.

"Come on!" Riku chased after the dog and Sora and Kairi followed suit.

Pluto lead them across the beach and towards the cove where a brightly colored gummi ship waited for them. Pluto ran inside the ship, and as Riku, Sora and Kairi followed. A large group of heartless rapidly appeared behind them in a growing black mob. The clouds above were beginning to circle ominously and more heartless were starting to appear. Time was running out.

"Hurry!" Sora ran ahead of the group, clutching Kairi's hand as she tried to keep up with Sora's pace. Riku lagged behind slightly, fending of any heartless that tried to catch them. Sora and Kairi ran up the ramp and into the gummi ship, safe. Riku looked out from the ramp at the sea of moving black on the island. He almost couldn't believe the sight in front of him.

"Riku! Come on!" Kairi called. "We aren't leaving without you!"

Riku ran up inside the ship as the ramp started to close up. He made his way to the pilot area, where Pluto sat and Sora and Kairi sat in two of the seats leaving the last for him. Riku took the empty seat, patting Pluto on the head.

"Thanks friend." He whispered. Riku turned to the navigation board. Sora had already locked in coordinates for Radiant Garden. For someone not too good with technology, Sora certainly knew how to work a spaceship. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, having nothing to do but wait and listen to Kairi faintly ask the same question over and over again. A question on all of their minds.

Why did it have to happen again?


	18. Chapter 17

The parlor of the old Mansion was in it's usual state of chaotic mess, but free of dust for the most part. Kaida remembered coming here for the first time, shortly after DiZ had set up his base beneath the house. Back then the dust was so bad that it kicked up with every step they took, causing both her and DiZ to have coughing and sneezing attacks. At least DiZ had taken care of that little bit of housekeeping. Kaida walked silently through the double doors set between the two stairwells that led upstairs and entered the library.

This room was in the same disarray as the parlor, but it had a slightly different feeling. It was haunting and peaceful at the same time. Sometimes Kaida wondered what had happened to this mansion for it to have been left like this, but she couldn't wonder for too long. There were other, more pressing matters for her to think about. Two armchairs had been turned up and sat properly on the floor, but Kaida stood and paced the room. Even her legs, like her mind, would not let her rest.

"You finally decided to come visit me." Kaida spun around to see DiZ walk in and take a seat in one of the armchairs. His attire remained the same for the most part but instead of the crimson color like before it was a deep plum purple color. If not for the light, Kaida would have thought it was black.

"I guess I did." Kaida continued to walk around. DiZ had told her before that it made him nervous for her to walk around liked she was, but Kaida didn't care.

"_I'm a Nobody. I don't care about anything..."_

"Any reason why you came?" DiZ asked, his one eye following her. Kaida made sure to keep her eyes away. "Or why you got the new outfit?" He obviously wasn't very approving of the dress.

"I still have my cloak, but there's no point in wearing it as often." Kaida said calmly. "If they can find me with the cloak I might as well not wear it unless I don't want people to see me."

"Then who do you want to see you, Kaida?" Kaida was silent. "Who do you want to make yourself known to?"

"Everyone and no one."

"Kaida! This is serious. Have you forgotten the gravity of your situation?" A spark of anger appeared in DiZ's deep voice.

"No, I haven't!" She snapped. "I know my situation everyday I wake up!"

"Are you implying that there are days that you don't wake up?" If it was possible for Kaida, she would have thought that DiZ sounded worried.

"No...," Kaida corrected him. "just days that I don't want to wake up."

"So you're still intact?"

"Yes, I'm still intact, DiZ"

DiZ chuckled. "If you weren't whole...he'd kill me for sure."

"He'd kill you if he even knew part of what was going on."

"I don't doubt that either." DiZ replied. Kaida stopped pacing and picked up a book from the floor. She began flipping through it mindlessly, keeping her back to DiZ. "You're nervous."

"I'm bored." She answered quickly. Kaida could feel that yellow eye boring into her back.

"You're lying." DiZ said bluntly. The bass of his voice seemed to shake her. "What happened?"

"Northex kept his word" Kaida replied after a few seconds of silence. "The islands aren't gone but they might as well be."

"I see..." DiZ stated solomnly. "What about Sora, Riku, and Kairi? Did they escape?"

"I-I went to the King." Kaida said. "He got them off. They're on their way to Radiant Garden now."

"Good. They'll be safe there for the most part."

"Safe?" Kaida slammed the book and threw it back on the floor, and began pacing again. "Northex knows! He knows, DiZ! He'll attack them again!"

"Kaida, that's impossible!" DiZ's voice boomed. For a second, Kaida thought that the room shook. She stopped pacing. "You might not believe it after everything I've put you through but I've done everything in my power to make sure that your past can't be retraced. The only people who can unravel everything is you, me, and..."

"And who?" Kaida looked at DiZ, straight into his eyes, visible or not.

"Ichigo! You know what you have to do! You have to stop this act!" DiZ bursted out, hitting the arm of the chair with his fist. "Your friend, Sora, and your brother, Riku, are Keyblade Wielders! Strong ones too! They'd be more than willing to help you! Even that boy you-!"

"Don't talk about him!" Kaida shouted. "Don't talk about any of them!"

"There are people that care about you and they'll help you, Ichigo!"

"My name isn't Ichigo!"

"You're too young. Your life doesn't have to be this Nothingness. You can save yourself, Ichigo. Just ask for their help. If not for your sake, show your true self for Riku's sake."

"I can't DiZ. Look at me!" Kaida stared at herself in a broken mirror. Her voice had changed, as if another person was talking now. "They wouldn't believe it! This is my problem anyway. I started it and I'll finish it some how. They don't need to get involved." A corridor of Darkness opened. "I need to go now."

"Ichigo!" DiZ stood.

"My name. Isn't. Ichigo." Her voice changed back as she began walking into the corridor. "I'm Kaida and I need to at least make sure that the people who got dragged into my mess are alright."

The portal disappeared. DiZ slumped down into his chair again. The mansion was quiet except for the sound of a few heartless scratching outside, obviously drawn here by Kaida's scent.

"What have I done?" DiZ asked quietly. "What have I done...?"


	19. Chapter 18

Pluto ran off the gummi ship as fast as he could when it landed. The trip to Radiant Garden went smoothly and the group was able to make their way to town easily. Unfortunately, the the world had changed quite a bit and their guide, Sora, was having a hard time figuring out which way it was to Merlin's house. Still he kept trying and insisting he could find it.

"Sora, are you sure Merlin will help us?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah! Of course!" Sora responded. "He and everybody else helped me out a lot in the past."

"Everybody else?" Kairi repeated.

"Yeah." Sora said happily. "There's Leon, Aerith, Sid, and Yuffie too. Remember Kairi? They helped us back when we were in Traverse Town."

"Oh, yeah. That's right." Kairi gave an uneasy smile and then went quiet. She seemed to be thinking about the new characters she would be re-meeting. Sora just looked like he was happily on his way to see some old friends, nothing else behind it. Riku already knew all of this from King Mickey, though he was a little anxious about meeting these new "friends". Though he was surprised that Kairi had already met them. Riku wasn't expecting that but a lot of things happened while he was in the Dark. Snap shots from the past flashed boldly in Riku's mind, but he didn't try to push them away. He had already learned to accepted what he had done. He looked at Kairi who was walking beside him again. Her eyes darted from one thing to another

"You okay, Kairi?" Riku asked, concerned about his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She said with the same smile.

Riku saw that something else was on her mind. It wasn't that hard to tell for him, but he wasn't going to pry. She would tell if she wanted to on her own time.

Riku managed to give her a small smile in return. "Okay, Kairi."

They continued walking down the stone streets. Sora pointed out buildings and sites to them as they walked to prove that he knew where they were in this new world. After every few bits of his friend's commentary, Riku would teasingly ask 'Okay, so which house is Merlin's, Sora?'. Which of course made his friend even more determined to find his way.

"We're almost there!" Sora took them down a short ally that opened into a small area with a few houses on all sides and another ally leading into another similar area.

"That's what you said five minutes ago, Sora." Riku said bluntly.

"I'm sure of it this time, Riku! It's-!"

Before Sora could finish defending himself again. A voice boomed behind them."Look out!"

The group turned around in time to see a group of heartless behind them disappear with one swing and a loud bang from a strange rifle-blade hybrid held by a brown haired man in what looked like biker clothes. A single scar adorned his stern face.

"Good to see you again." The man said. "It's been a while, Sora."

"Hey, Leon." Sora replied. "Good to see you too."

Leon's fierce eyes looked over Riku, who looked back at him, and Kairi, who seemed mesmerized and frightened of the strange gunblade. "I see you brought Kairi back and I'll guess that this is your friend Riku."

"Yeah, we managed to stick together this time." Sora said.

"That's good." Leon rested his weapon on his shoulder. "Anyway, since you're all here, I suppose you came to talk to everyone. Merlin moved back to Traverse Town for a while but he's still letting us use his house as our headquarters."

"Headquarters?" Kairi asked. Riku knew what Leon was taking about but he wouldn't steal Sora's thunder this time.

"For the Hollow Bastion Restoration Team." Sora answered. "Though I guess it's called the Radient Garden Restoration Team now."

"Alright, come on in, Cid is probably in here working on something." Leon walked in the first wooden door to his right leaving it open for the others to follow.

"Told you I knew where we were going." Sora said triumphantly

"Alright, Sora, I'll give you some credit." Riku said, slightly sarcasticly. "You finally have a little sense of direction."

"Come on you two! You can make fun of each other later" Kairi walked ahead of the friends and entered the house first. Sora and Riku followed quickly, Riku shutting the door once they were inside. There a blonde older but muscular man in a white shirt and blue pants with a straw in his mouth sat on a swivel stool with his back toward a large computer. This was who Riku guessed was Cid.

"Good to see ya, Sora." Cid said adjusting his straw. "And Kairi, it's nice to see you too. It's been a pretty long time."

"Thanks Cid." Sora said, happy to see another friend.

Kairi smiled. "Thanks"

"And you must be Riku." Cid turned to him. "Good to finally meet ya."

"The same." Riku said bluntly, not really sure how to act.

"Hey, where's Aerith and Yuffie?" Sora asked, looking around.

"They're out running some errands. They'll be by here soon." Cid smiled. "So what brings you back to our little world?"

"Heartless." Leon answered for them as he walked deeper into the room and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Heartless?" Cid repeated, sounding shocked.

"How are you so sure that Heartless are our problem?" Riku asked coolly, his eyes snapping towards Leon.

"Riku!" Kairi whispered, distressed because of the tone he had asked his question.

"Because those Heartless that tried to attack you guys are the first to be seen here in almost a year." Leon answered, returning the coolness. "And the Keybearer is here so I'll take a guess that the Heartless are starting trouble again."

_"Yeah...it's kinda like that if you count losing a whole world as starting trouble."_ Riku tightened his hand into a fist but quickly released it.

"Oh, great..." Cid ran his hand through his hair. He turned back to his computer and started typing in what looked like codes. "I'll have to turn the town security system on again. Didn't think we'd have to use it again...at least not so soon."

"Heartless is kind of the problem." Sora began. He explained how everything had been peaceful on their world until just a few hours ago.

"That's strange..." Leon said. "We haven't gotten any disturbances on our monitors and nothing from the King. Even the stars haven't been blinking out." This news caught everyone off guard. Riku felt himself go slightly numb.

"What?" Sora exclaimed. "That's can't be right!"

"Hasn't something else happened?" Kairi asked, obviously just as shocked as Sora. "Something else the Heartless could have caused?"

"Maybe...we'll have to do some investigating." Cid said as he turned back around after reactivating the security system.

"And we'll try to get back in contact with the King." Leon added. "Obviously something is up."

"Do you think Maleficent could be behind this?" Sora asked. Riku could see that his friend was remembering the last time he had to face the witch. "We got rid off all the Organization XIII members-."

"Except one." Riku corrected him.

"One?" Leon repeated. "The last letter we got from the King said you that you took care of all of them."

"Are you sure she counts, Riku?" Kairi asked him. "You told us that she didn't work under someone."

"Just because she says that she doesn't have a leader doesn't mean it's true or that she didn't have some tie to the Organization." Riku remained serious. Kaida's pale face was clear in his mind. "Have any of you noticed anyone, a girl, in a black cloak who goes by the name Kaida." Riku retold the story of the events that happened last summer between him and the strange Nobody. A few times he almost mentioned Ichigo but Riku managed to avoid mentioning her at all. After all, what did his sister, who was now nine years missing, have to do with anything?

"Sorry, it looks like your Nobody decided to miss out on coming here after her trip to your island." Cid said after Riku finished. "We haven't got gotten any reports of a girl like that."

"We'll be on alert for her though, don't worry." Leon still used the same steel coolness.

"Thanks." Riku felt slightly better about Leon now. He was almost relaxed when the door suddenly burst open without any warning. Riku, along with his friends, snapped his head toward the door to watch a small girl with short black hair and dark eyes, maybe a little older than Riku, in a short blue shirt and short shorts with blue and white gloves walk in with a small smile on her face.

"Hey, Cid, why did you turn the security system back on?" Yuffie asked, placing her fists on her hips.

"Why don't you ask our guests?" Cid turned back to his computer and started putting in some more stuff. Probably adjusting the system some more.

"Hey, Yuffie!" Sora waved.

Yuffie turned toward Sora, suddenly realizing the visitors in the room. "Oh, hey guys! Long time no see, especially you, Kairi! It looks like you found your other friend, Riku. Nice to finally meet ya!"

"Um...thanks." Riku wasn't sure what else to say to her either. He was never really too good with the whole introduction thing.

"So, are the Heartless back?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes but it looks like their numbers are small here." Leon answered. "I thought you were helping Aerith. Is there something else you needed?"

"Oh, yeah!" Yuffie said, remembering her original purpose of coming. "Aerith and I found an old friend and we need some help with him."

"An old friend? Who?" Cid turned to Yuffie.

"Luka!" She answered with a smile. Riku looked at Sora, but he looked just as lost as Riku felt. Obviously, he also had no clue who Luka was either.

"I thought he was still in Traverse Town." Cid said. Leon kept his expression blank.

"We did too but he's here!" Yuffie said happily. "But he needs some help right now. He's really weak. Aerith is looking after him now at her house or as close as we could get with him. Luka's gotten heavy."

"Alright, I'll go." Leon stood straight from where he was previously leaning against the wall.

"Do you need us to help too?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, we could use your help too!" Yuffie said to the trio. "Luka looks like he had a run in with something, maybe it was Heartless or Nobodies."

"Okay, just lead the way." Riku said simply.

"Alright! Follow me!" Yuffie ran out the door almost as quickly as she came in. The group followed her out and as best as they could through the streets and crowds. Aside from following Yuffie and what had become of his home, the only other thing on Riku's mind was what or who this Luka guy had run into. He didn't want to be away from the islands for another year, and he was sure that his friends didn't either. In his head he begged for everything that had happened to have been a freak accident. No organization to defeat. No witch. No power hungry leader trying to make his own world again. Just a freak accident. As for Kaida, maybe she finally faded back into the Darkness that she came from.


	20. Chapter 19

"Wow, you were right." Leon said as soon as they got to Aerith's house. "He did get bigger."

"I told you." Yuffie chimed.

Riku, Sora, and Kairi only stared in shock and confusion at the scene before them. There a woman with long brown hair tied back in a pink ribbon in a matching pink dress, that Riku was again awkwardly introduced to as Aerith, sat in the doorway of her home with a large but still young looking tiger lion creature laying it's head in her lap as she gently pet it. It had the color and strips of a tiger but also a a black mane and tail like a lion's. This was Luka? Riku wasn't sure what to make of the creature. How were they suppose to find out anything from an animal that looked like it would maul and kill them? Even if Aerith could sit there and pet it's mane while it slept like it was a regular house cat.

"Do you guys think you can help carry him inside?" Aerith asked in her sweet voice. "Once we get him on a bed I can try to get him to wake up. Maybe then he can tell us what happened."

"Umm...Aerith, what is that thing exactly?" Sora asked anxiously.

"It's a who, Sora. This is Luka. I'll explain more inside." Aerith carefully placed the big cat's head on the ground, so she could stand up. Luka's claws in one of his front paws stretched out and retracted. Riku started to feel more nervous about moving the creature. "We can't stay out here long if there are Heartless roaming. Kairi come with me and help me move some things for Luka."

"Okay!" Kairi swiftly followed Aerith. She was probably relieved that she didn't have to be around the strange hybrid creature anymore.

"Alright, let's see if we can move the giant fur ball." Leon said moving closer to the cat. Luka's lip began to lift up, revealing his large canine tooth along with some other equally intimidating teeth. Riku and Sora took a step back. "Looks like he heard me."

"Leon!" Yuffie went down and spoke to Luka's ear. "Okay, Luka, we're going to pick you up again. Try not to move." Yuffie moved to were Leon was on the opposite side of the cat. Sora did the same only stood across from Riku near the front of the cat. "On three. One, two three!"

Riku and Sora picked up Luka from the front and Yuffie and Leon had Luka around his middle. Even though there were four of them Luka was still pretty heavy for Riku. At least they had him off the ground. They walked quickly inside, struggling slightly to moved together in order to prevent from falling behind or stepping on someone. Still they managed to get him on a bed that appeared to be in an office like room, only there were flowers and plants of all kinds everywhere. Some in pots and vases and others in jars and boxes that orderly in cabinets and shelves. Kairi was looking at one of the jars when they came in. Two large bookshelves full of books on different topics were crammed into the room as well. The books that didn't fit on the shelves were in piles around the room. All of them with little marks and papers in them, showing that Aerith had made notes on them.

"So, what does Aerith do with all these plants?" Riku rubbed his tired arm.

"She sells them." Yuffie replied. "She's probably one of the only flower merchants here."

"She also uses them to make some potions and medicines." Leon added. "Sometimes people come to see her directly for whatever is bothering them. Without her I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been able to have started rebuilding this world as quickly. There were a lot of injuries."

"She must be a really valuable member." Riku stated.

"Absolutely." Leon said. "Find out how the little fur ball got here. I need to head back to Cid. Fill me in later Yuffie."

"Okay! Later Leon!" Yuffie waved happily as Leon left the house until the door shut. Kairi went back to analyzing the various plants.

"Do you think you can explain why Luka's like this, Yuffie?" Sora asked, still anxious but curious about the creature.

"It'll probably be better if we wait for Aerith." Yuffie said. "Don't worry. You'll understand when Luka gets his strength up."

"He doesn't look like he's fully grown yet." Kairi commented, her attention now on the cat.

Yuffie shook her head. "Cause he's not an adult. Luka is only about sixteen."

"Isn't sixteen old for a tiger? Or a lion? Or whatever he is?" Sora said uncomfortably.

"You'll understand later." Yuffie laughed.

Footsteps came down the stairs and Aerith entered the room. She handed Yuffie a small vial of a purple liquid. "Give this to him and it should help give him strength to wake up." She said hurriedly. Yuffie did so, opening his mouth and slowly pouring the liquid down his throat. Riku knew for sure that he wouldn't haven't been able to do that. Kairi moved to Sora but kept studying the large cat.

"If you want to, you can pet his head or scratch behind his ears, Kairi." Aerith said as she kept looking through different supplies. "It might help bring him back to his senses."

"Umm...okay." Kairi responded nervously. She moved closer to Luka, and timidly placed her hand on his head and stroked his mane. Both Sora and Riku watched nervously, fearing that Kairi would soon be minus one hand.

"I haven't made this potion in a while but I should have one lift." Aerith commented as she kept searching.

"Need some help?" Riku offered trying not to think about his friend petting a potentially dangerous creature in front of him. Sora was the one who was suppose to be doing the potentially dangerous stupid things.

"Maybe..." Aerith reached further back into a cabinet. "Here it is!"

"His eyes are opening!" Kairi said as she continued scratching behind his ears. Riku turned back to Kairi and saw the golden eyes roaming around drunkenly. Sora had already summoned his keyblade, ready to fight Luka if he tried to attack Kairi.

"Alright, Luka, this will help you in no time!" Aerith tossed the potion and everyone watched as it activated over Luka. They all watched and within a few minutes Luka began to change. His fur began thin and disappear, revealing dark tan skin. The form of a tiger lion began to shift and become more human. The paws turned into hands, haunches into legs, and the mane into a shorter but still shaggy head of hair. Eventually, Luka was fully human, looking around sixteen like Yuffie had said, only he still kept his tiger ears and dark lion tail. The stripes on his fur had transitioned into tiger stripe tattoos up his arms and a few small stripes on the far sides of his face. He wore a brown sleeveless fitted shirt and cream baggy pants like Sora's used to be only the came down to his ankles, from the callouses on his feet Riku could tell that he spent most of his time barefoot. Luka had a lean muscular build similar to his own. His complexion and attire reminded Riku of Aladdin, except Luka's eyes were still the same gold as they were before.

"Who's scratching my head?" The boy asked groggily, his eyes starting to focus on Kairi, who jerked her hand back as soon as he spoke. She quickly moved back to Sora, who put his arm around her. Riku saw her cheeks turn a light shade of red. The boy sat up and finished scratching behind his ear giving Kairi a nervous smile. His canine teeth were still slightly more pronounced. "Don't worry. It felt pretty good."

"Who are you?" Sora asked defensively.

"Me?" The boy said confused by Sora's hostility. "My name's Luka."

"Well...this is...new." Riku said, unable to think of anything else.

"What's new?" Luka gave Riku a confused look, but also another look. It was like Luka was trying to think or remember something important about him. Riku was used to people studying him over again and again though, but he wasn't sure why he had that effect on people.

"They've probably never seen a wildcat turn into a boy before, Luka." Yuffie said, obviously unaffected.

"Yuffie!" Luka's face brightened and he turned to Aerith. "Aerith! Where am I? -!"

"Luka, slow down!" Aerith said coming forward, feeling his forehead to see if he had a fever. Riku had tried to keep up with what Luka had said but only ended up with his head hurting. The only person he had heard talk so fast was Sora when he thought the secret cave was haunted. "You're at my house."

"Really?" Luka looked around, taking some deep breaths to calm down. "It's a lot different..."

"Well, you're in Radiant Garden now, Luka." Aerith said now checking his pulse. "Me and Yuffie found you in your wildcat form in a courtyard. We carried you as far as we could, and then we got Leon and our friends here to help move you and get you comfortable inside. This is Sora, Riku and Kairi."

"I see...that explains a lot." Luka glanced at Kairi nervously and then to Sora. "So, your the Keyblade master, right?"

"Yeah, I am." Sora said coolly. "Kairi and Riku can use keyblades too."

"Oh..." Luka then turned his attention to studying Riku again. He seemed to have his eyes on Riku's face and chest."It's nice to meet all of you."

"Is there something wrong?" Riku asked, slightly annoyed at Luka's staring.

"No! Just...you remind me of someone." Luka collected his thoughts for a moment. "Anyway, I'd better explain what happened to cause me to turn into...well, that."

"Okay..." Riku folded his arms across his chest. This guy seemed a little out if it. He made Sora look like he had himself together.

"You see, I was born an orphan and I lived with this older woman." Luka explained. "Anyway, she was known to have been a pretty good with magic back in her day. I didn't know too much about it at the time, but she didn't like me going into her old magic things. One day, I was five, and I of course looking through some of her old magic stuff and she caught me. She asked me what I had to say for my self and I just told her that I was just as curious." Luka laughed a little. "I can't believe I still remember this. 'Curious like a cat?' she asked. I just nodded. Then she said 'Well, curiosity killed the cat but in your case...it's a little different.' That's when she cursed me."

"Your guardian cursed you?" Kairi said in disbelief. Sympathy radiated from her being.

"And now you're a cat boy?" Riku added, not really buying the story Luka was trying to feed them. Sora just kept glaring at Luka.

"It's true. I swear. I don't have these tattoos just to look cool." Luka held a striped arm out to them. "These stripes are the curse's mark, the tail and ears, and turning into the liger, that's what I call it, are all part of the curse. I can turn into a liger on will but if I get really weak, like I was a while ago, I change automaticly. Keeping the ears and the tail is pretty annoying though."

"Alright, so your guardian cursed you to turn into a strange wildcat. Why didn't she lift the curse after she finished punishing you?" Riku asked. That was the only thing that didn't make sense to him, aside from the harsh punishment of being cursed. She must have been one strict woman.

"Well...," Luka trailed off a little. "she chose a very bad time to do it. Moments later heartless attacked my world. She ran. I'm not sure what happened to her." Luka went silent for a moment. "I was in my liger cub form and I didn't know how to change back, but I still had to get out of there. I ran as fast as I could and the next thing I know I passed out. When I woke up, I was in Traverse Town. Another magician had found me and took care of me. He couldn't reverse the curse but he at least get me back into a human...or as close to it as I could be."

Luka seemed to go off into his memories for a few seconds before being brought back to reality and giving everyone a smile. Riku wasn't sure what to make of this guy. He acted way too much like Sora, with the nonchalant smile.

"Well, now that that's been explained, an you tell us a little more calmly what happened, Luka?" Aerith asked gently.

"Umm...I..." Some of Luka's attention was still on Riku, but now he wasn't looking directly at him. Something else about him had Luka's attention. "I kinda got dropped off here and I ran into some heartless...then they kinda cornered me...and-."

"Okay!" Riku finally burst out. He was tired of this guy hiding whatever he was hiding. "Why do you keep staring at me? If you have something to say, say it!"

"Riku! Calm down!" Kairi plead. Sora remained quiet but little surprised at his friend's action.

"Well, Luka?" Riku stated coldly. "I'm waiting."

" I want to know...," Luka collected his thoughts and courage. "how you got that necklace."

"What?" Riku almost didn't believe him. It was the complete opposite of what he thought Luka was going to ask. "I found it. It used to belong to my sister."

Luka looked down. "Ichigo...I knew you had to be her brother. You look almost exactly alike."

"Wait, what?" Riku was starting to get even more frustrated. It also sent a a chill down his spine. "How the hell do you know my sister? Or that this was her necklace?"

"Because I knew her." Luka answered simply.

"That's a lie!"Riku shouted defensively. He was lying. He had to be.

"No, it's not!" Luka shouted back. "She was my best friend!"

"That's impossible!" Riku grabbed Luka by the shirt and slammed him into the wall. Luka's ears folded back "My sister's been missing and considered dead for nine years! NINE YEARS! I know for a fact that there's no way she could have gotten off that island on her own!"

"Well, I know for a fact that Ichigo was my friend and that she was with me in Traverse Town!" Luka shouted back, his canine teeth becoming more pronounced and his tail began to flick from side to side."I also know that the necklace you're wearing, is the same one she was wearing when she disappeared THREE YEARS AGO!"

"Guys! Stop fighting!" Yuffie yelled.

"Luka's telling the truth, Riku!" Aerith said. "Ichigo, that was the girl you were looking for back in Traverse Town, right?"

"Yes, she was." Luka said innocently. "Told you!"

"Shut up, cat boy." Riku tightened his grip on Luka.

Sora rubbed his head. "I am so lost..."

"Luka," Aerith addressed him firmly. Both him and Riku looked at her. "Do you still have that picture? The one you showed us when we met so we could look out for her."

Luka's ears perked up. "Yeah, I do." Luka reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. He held it right in Riku's face. Riku held his breath at what he saw. The picture was taken in front of a large fountain in Traverse Town. He could tell it was taken there from it's dark night time look in the background. A younger Luka was in the picture wearing almost the same outfit smiling and pointing at the camera to alert the person beside him in the picture of the photographer. The person was a pretty young girl balancing on the edge of the fountain as she attempted to walk across it wearing a short sleeved purple shirt and shorts with her white hair hanging half way down her back. Her light blue eyes were wide and she held an expression of surprise and embarrassment as the photographer snapped the shot. Even though she was obviously older, it was plain to Riku and to anyone else who knew her that this was his sister, Ichigo, alive and well.

"Believe me now, Big Brother?"


	21. Chapter 20

Riku quietly released Luka from his grasp and backed away to his friends. His head was spinning. His sister was alive? She was here? How did this happen? How could she leave the islands and then end up here? Did she open the door? No, she didn't have a keyblade and she's not a princess of heart. Then how?

"I believe you..." Riku said, defeated

"Thank you." Luka sat back down on the bed.

"Aerith," Riku turned to the woman. "How do you know my sister?"

"I didn't. Luka asked us to search for her" She answered.

"What?" Riku blinked a few times in confusion.

"Luka asked Leon, Yuffie, and me to look for her." Aerith said softly. "He came to us shortly after the heartless took over the second and third districts in Traverse Town, asking us to help find a friend he'd lost."

Riku turned back to Luka, who again looked like he was in a trance. He now felt guilty for yelling at him, amongst a medley of other emotion. In fact, he wasn't sure what to feel. All he knew was that his head was starting to hurt worse. "Luka...how did you know my sister?"

"I found her when she came to Traverse Town." Luka said after a few moments of silence. Then he began his story.

"Come back here, freak!" A boy yelled as young Luka ran from him in his liger form. A group of four boys chased him through the second district. The only light came from the illuminated signs, the street lights and the stars above all because of the eternal night this world had settled itself in. A rock hit and bounced off his head. Another quickly followed, hitting Luka's back. The other boys picked up on this and more stones came at Luka. The night was no problem for, Luka, as part of the curse, he also got the heightened senses of a cat. He ran faster, turning and skidding to try and loose the boys in the shadows that only he could see through. As soon as he could, Luka turned down into an ally and hid behind a wooden box. The boys hadn't seen him go down the ally and ran past him, still yelling for him to come back.

Relief rushed over him. His plan had worked and he was safe. Then he heard something that he hadn't noticed before. Crying? Luka turned around and there she was. A young girl with white pigtails and a blue dress was sitting wide eyed behind him. She was sniffling and her face was wet with tears. From her blue blood shot eyes, Luka could tell that she was scared more than anything. Quickly he shifted back into his boy form. This only succeeded in frightening her more and she scooted away from him.

"Hey." Luka said timidly, walking towards the girl, who only moved further away from him until she was against the back wall of the ally. Dirt collecting on her dress. He then knelt down to her level as she tried to wipe away a few fresh tears as they rolled down her cheeks. "Don't be scared."

"I-I'm not scared." Her voice obviously shaking.

Luka swallowed hard. "M-my name is Luka. What's your name?"

"Ichigo." She answered quietly. "Luka...wh-what are you?"

"I'm a human, like you."

"But you have a tail...and ears."

"It's a long story." Luka gave Ichigo a small smile.

"Where am I?" She asked, her voice still shaken.

"Traverse Town." He held his hand out to her. "Come on, I'll take you to my guardian. He's a strong sorcerer, you know someone who can use magic. Maybe he can help you."

"My brother said...that magic isn't real." Ichigo said, her eyes drifting down.

"It's real. Trust me." Luka offered his hand to Ichigo again. She looked up at him with those innocent eyes and put her hand in his.

"Okay, I trust you." Ichigo said quietly. Luka helped Ichigo to her feet as she finished wiping the tears from her face. Hand in hand they left the ally and made their way to Luka's house. A smile was still on Luka's face. Even with the tears and the puffy red eyes, there was something about this lost girl that seemed to glow, something special.

"That's what happened." Luka concluded. "My new guardian took in Ichigo. She...was really depressed for a while after he explained that Traverse Town was a refuge for people who's worlds had been swallowed by the Darkness, even after he said that there was some hope that her world was still out there. It was almost almost two months before I saw her smile. Still...she would look so sad sometimes."

Luka trailed off, he was spacing out again. Probably thinking of Ichigo was what Riku guessed. His stomach was knotting up even more. Everything was being turned upside down. His sister was still out there? She was at Traverse Town but he didn't see her when he went there. Sora obviously never saw her either.

"So, where is she now?" Riku asked, looking Luka right into his eyes. Blue met gold. "You two had the same guardian and were good friends. What happened to her there? Where is she? Tell me everything, Luka."

Luka swallowed hard. "Okay...well, after living with us for a few months, our guardian noticed that Ichigo had magical powers."

"What?" Riku and Sora said in unison. Riku about fell over. That was one of the last things he expected to hear.

"But how?" Sora asked, obviously shocked as well.

"I have no clue but she could use magic." Luka continued. "She was good at it too. Wilted flowers would come back to life if she just touched them. Our guardian started teaching her and helped her refine her skills. It was...amazing. She was so young but so talented and powerful. It was like she was born to use magic. She was pretty good in a fight too." Luka smirked a little. "As the years went by she just got better, even going into some really advanced magic. Our guardian almost had to stop because she was learning so fast, and well...she almost got hurt pretty badly."

"What do you mean?" Riku inquired.

"She accidentally came across blood magic." Luka explain. "All a magician has to do is use a spell but also offer a sample of their blood. It makes a spell stronger and there are different things that can be done with it because of the blood part. Anyway, Ichigo got cut while performing a fire spell and it almost burnt down the house, but our guardian was able to stop it before any damage was done."

"If this blood magic is so powerful, then why didn't your guardian stop her from finishing the spell?" Riku was getting irritated again, think of someone not stopping his sister from doing something so dangerous.

"Only a few and rare magicians can use it. Our guardian couldn't even use it, so how could he have known that Ichigo could? The odds are nearly one in a thousand, maybe even less." Luka sighed. "She would have been a great sorceress."

Riku sighed as well. Luka was avoiding one thing. "You didn't answer my first question. Where's my sister now? What happened to Ichigo?"

Luka went off into a trance again and his ears folded back. "It's my fault. I lost her..."

"That's not true." Aerith said. "It wasn't you fault, Luka. A lot of people went missing that day."

"Luka, what happened?" Kairi asked softly.

Luka took a breath. "The heartless came and took over the second and third districts. I was fourteen and Ichigo was thirteen. We lived in the second district, but most of the heartless went to third, and that's where Ichigo was, in the Magician's Study. Heartless had always been in Traverse Town but more seemed to be coming out of no where. Our guardian was helping hold off some of the heartless so that people could escape to the first district, and I went after Ichigo. Only when I went to the study no one was there. I looked everywhere I could but I couldn't find her. Eventually, our guardian had to come and get me because the heartless were starting to overrun the district. We thought that may be she had made it to the first district on her own, but we couldn't find her..."

Luka trailed off and Yuffie picked it back up. "Then he came to us and asked for help looking for her. We searched all of the districts as best as we could, but we couldn't find her either."

"It's like she vanished..." Luka said quietly.

"It looks like she has a bad habit of doing that." Riku thought. So what did this mean now for his sister? Was she still out there or was she gone to the Darkness?

"I'm sorry, Riku." Riku snapped to attention as Luka said this. "I'm sorry for losing Ichigo..."

"From what you've told me, it wasn't your fault." Riku felt as though he'd been kicked in the chest. I found out where his sister had been and now he just had more questions. "I...I should be thanking you for looking for my sister."

"Thanks. Still...," Luka went on. "Girls don't just disappear and before I ended up here. I...I smelt her."

"You...smelt her?" Sora repeated.

"Thanks to this curse, I have a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing." Luka explained. "This is what I was trying to tell you earlier. I was living still living in Traverse Town and while I was walking around I smelt Ichigo's scent. So I followed it."

"How sure are you that it was Ichgio?" Riku's eyes settled harshly on Luka.

"I'd bet my life on it" Luka replied, his tone was dead serious. "Only before I could get to Ichigo... her scent, it just ended."

"The trail just stopped?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah, It just stopped for no reason." Luka started to sound aggravated. "I thought I was getting close too...and then a group of heartless came out and attacked. I fought them all off and then this girl in a black cloak came out of no where."

"A girl in a black cloak?" Sora jumped up.

"She's still out there..." Riku heard Kairi whisper.

"Yeah, she knocked me out really fast... and then I woke up and I'm here." Luka's gave an uneasy smile. "Why is the girl so important? Isn't she a Nobody?"

"Because it might have been the same girl who came to our island last summer." Riku answered coolly. "She said her name was Kaida."

"Kaida...Kaida..." Luka thought for a while. "The name doesn't sound familiar."

"You said that it was a girl in a black cloak, right?" Aerith asked.

"A black cloak would mean the Organization," Yuffie said. "but there are no more members left."

"Yeah, they're all gone, and me and Riku took out Xemnas." Sora recounted.

"So if there's no one left, then what's this girl doing in one of their cloaks?" Aerith wondered as she sat down at her desk..

"Who knows, but it can't be good." Riku said. They all knew this. Whatever this Nobody wanted they had to stop it before it succeeded.

"What about Ichigo?" Now Luka was looking Riku straight in the eyes for an answer. "It was her scent back in Traverse Town. It disappeared and there's a Nobody? Something's not right. Ichigo wouldn't run away. She..."

"She would have come back." Riku finished the sentence. He knew this from the first time she disappeared."You're right, something isn't right."

"Then we'll look for her and we'll find her." Sora said confidently. Leave it to Sora to be the source of optimism. It felt good to have that confidence around. It was like everything was possible. Yes, they would find Ichigo and Riku was going to make sure of it. Then they would take care of Kaida.

"Right." Riku said without thinking. "We're going to find her."


	22. Chapter 21

Kaida almost tripped as she made her way down the stairs to the lab. She held her left arm tightly as pain shot up through the rest of her body. Kaida didn't have to look at it to know her condition. DiZ had heard her and was waiting at the bottom, back straight, shoulders back, head up like always. The posture of a former king. How the mighty have fallen. Then again she could say the same about herself.

"Two visits in one day. What do I owe the pleasure?" DiZ fell somber as he noticed Kaida's arm. Blood ran in little red rivers between her fingers, down her arm, and collected on her fingertips. A few drops of blood had managed to blemish the white sterile stairs and stain the carpet in the parlor and the library. He didn't seemed shocked or surprised. No gasp escaped from his lips. Only his calm firm voice came out of his mouth. "What happened this time, Kaida?"

He sounded slightly sad as he said her name and there was a slight hesitation too. She didn't feel guilty though, not in the slightest. Kaida was her name and that was that. "I ran into an interesting creature." She removed her hand from her arm to reveal a perfect set of claw marks on her arm. "Another 'friend' of Ichigo's."

"It looks like he didn't take too kindly to you." DiZ said coolly.

"Look...could you just get me some bandages, please?" Another spike of pain went though her and she slumped down into DiZ's chair in front of the numerous computer monitors. "Before I bleed all over the place?"

"Since you said 'please'. I suppose I can help you." DiZ went down a small corridor deeper into his lab. Kaida waited, blocking out the pain a much as she could. Since when did DiZ care about manners? And since when did she start showing him any type of etiquette? She remembered someone telling her that it was essential to be kind to all of your allies, even if you wanted to punch them in the face. Kaida glanced at her arm. Be kind because you never know what will happen and who you might need. She smirked as she thought of their meeting earlier. If he had wanted to, DiZ could have just turned her away and have a good reason for doing it too. He let her get away with way too much.

Kaida scanned the room from corner to corner with her dark eyes. The lab hadn't changed much since she had last been down here. Notes and papers littered the computer desk in an organized chaos. All of it was studies on the heartless, the nobodies, and the heart. The usual topics that DiZ had consumed himself in, and still did apparently. The floors and walls were spotless and a clinical scent hung heavy in the air as opposed to staleness of the rest of the house. Even after all this time, the only light came from the soft glow of the monitors. The whole basement lab felt so cold. In Kaida's opinion, it was one of the saddest places to spend one's time, but what about her? Her 'home' wasn't any different. It was just as cold and lonely as DiZ's lab.

"So you finally ran out of your own supplies." DiZ said as he entered the room again carrying rolls of bandages and gauze in one hand and a damp rag in the other. Kaida was actually a little surprised. He was going to help her.

"Maybe..." She kept her eyes away from his.

DiZ laughed softly. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. You wouldn't have come to me if you didn't."

Kaida only scoffed at this truth, trying to play it off that she didn't care if she got his help or bled out in the realm of Darkness. What difference would it make if she continued to exist or not? Nothing, not a difference. Yet she was here, asking for help because she was wounded. She was asking the one person she hated for help because she decided to run and live, rather than be shot down. Suddenly, Kaida felt something cold on her wounded arm and turned her head to DiZ cleaning the blood off her arm with the wet rag. She was caught so off guard that she nearly jumped out of her seat.

"I'll take care of it!" Kaida said harshly, taking the rag from DiZ, who didn't seem to have any reaction to her outburst. She started cleaning her claw marks and the rest of her arm where the blood had traveled down.

"At least let me bind it for you." DiZ said, kneeling down to her level, unrolling some gauze. When Kaida finished cleaning the wound, DiZ began wrapping it. First with the gauze and then with the bandages.

She had to admit, he was pretty good at this. The bandages weren't too tight or too loose. "Thank you..." Kaida said, almost at a whisper.

"You're welcome...I guess." DiZ said as he rose. "Would you mind telling me what you were doing in Traverse Town?"

"Sightseeing." Kaida blurted out.

"A serious answer, Kaida." DiZ rolled his amber eye.

"Fine." Kaida propped her elbow up on the arm of the chair, resting her head in her palm. "I went to see if Northex had gotten to the boy, Luka, Ichigo was friends with after I saw that those three from the islands had made it to Radient Garden safely. We had a little altercation, I knocked him out and sent him to meet his friend's brother, and he left me with a cloak to mend."

"He could have ripped you to shreds." DiZ said analytically

Kaida answered simply as it was nothing out of the ordinary. "If I had given him the chance, he probably would have."

"You're incredible, Ichigo." DiZ sighed, rubbing his temples. "Incredible and impossible."

"My name is Kaida!" She snapped sharply

"That's a lie and you know it." DiZ said strongly. "Why don't you come back Ichigo? Things could get a little easier for you."

"That's a lie...and you know it." Kaida's voice had changed completely as it had in their meeting earlier. She sounded on the verge of tears. "If I...if Ichigo came back. So many people would be hurt. She wouldn't be able to take it. Besides, DiZ, she's a ghost. She wouldn't be able to go home, back to the islands. It's just been too long. They've already moved on."

"Ichigo..."

"Stop calling me Ichigo!" Kaida's snapped, almost a bark, her voice had returned to normal. The tears and sadness were gone.

"Let me ask you this." DiZ was now slightly annoyed. "Why did you send Luka to Radient Gardens where yo- where Ichigo's brother and friends are?"

"Because they at least deserve to know the fate of their beloved Ichigo after she left them." Kaida replied bluntly. "They don't know." DiZ was silent and waited for her to clarify. "Northex and Luka. Not yet at least, but I think we can both guess why Northex brought the Keybladers here."

"He'll use them like Xemnas did." DiZ said solemnly. "And then he'll use them to get rid of you."

Kaida nodded. The tassels from her bun covers shook with her, tickling her ears. "I'm going to leave now."

"Where are you going?" This was the first time DiZ had asked this. It almost caught Kaida as off guard as the wet rag. Why did he give a damn about where she was going? He wasn't her father. Kaida release a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. No, he wasn't her father, but he was all she had. DiZ was the only one in all the worlds she had passed through who knew what was going on. He was her only ally, and as much as Kaida wanted to beat him up after everything that had happened, she couldn't. She needed him.

"I'm going to try and make a bargain with the Keybladers, and maybe keep them out of Northex's plans." A corridor of darkness appeared in front of Kaida as she finished her sentence. Without another word she left DiZ alone again, and that was probably the worst thing she could do to him at this time.


	23. Chapter 22

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to my Yuki nee-chan for her support, putting up with my constant requests to read my work before posting, and our shared dislike of Kairi.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, guys..." Luka sniffed at the air for a moment. "I think she's back."

Riku's muscles turned tense, both because of what Luka said and the way he smelt the air. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable, but shook it off."Which she?" Sora asked

"The nobody." Luka's tail began to flick back and forth very sharply. "The same one that knocked me out."

"Then lets go see what she wants." Riku summoned his keyblade.

"Right." Kairi said, her voice strong, forgetting her embarrassment from earlier. She also called for her keyblade that came to her hand in a swift flash of light.

"Let's go." Sora started to lead the way out of the house.

"I'm coming with you." Luka stood up to join the group. "I'll lead you straight to her."

Riku studied Luka hard. He was a friend of the people here, but Riku had learned to be wary of he had just met. Still, help wasn't something to turned down so easily, especially with Luka's senses. Luka had also told him about his sister, filling in one of the multiplying question blanks Riku had, and even told him that she night still out there. That made Riku relax, but only a little bit. "Alright, come on."

"Are you sure you're able to, Luka?" Kairi gave him a concerned look with her bright violet eyes.

"Yeah, you might want to lay down for a while." Yuffie chimed in.

Luka gave the girls a carefree smile. "I'll be fine. That stuff you gave me, Aerith, made me feel as good as new. Thanks!"

"No problem." Aerith returned the smile. "Just be careful, all of you."

"We will." Sora had answered for all of them.

They set out of the small house with Luka leading the way. Riku followed close behind him, and Sora and Kairi brought up the rear. Adrenaline pumped through Riku's body as they ran through the streets, avoiding the groups of people as they went about their business, and ignoring the odd stares they were being given, either from the rush they were in or Luka's odd appearance. Kaida's dark eyes were still clear in his head from when she meet his eyes in combat and how they burned with determination. She wanted something, but what? What did he have that Kaida wanted? Luka turned and sped through to the bailey, where he began to slow down. Even with the fast turns, Riku managed to stay even with Luka. Sora and Kairi were a different story.

Luka began scanning the area cautiously with Riku still behind him, also being on the lookout for a girl in black. "She's close..." Luka commented as he moved a little further from Riku. "Hey Riku."

"What?" Riku used his usual blunt tone.

"Is it me or is it getting really cold to you too?"

Riku didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like it was getting colder. At least he only thought it was until he saw a faint sign of frost on the stone around them. Goosebumps began to appear on his skin and it wasn't too much longer before Riku could hear Kairi shivering behind him. Even Luka's tail was starting to shake. Why, out of all the elements, did this Nobody have to use ice, something they weren't used to? Luka turned down toward the, now improved, restoration site. Of course it got colder and the frost became more visible.

"Up there!" Sora ran up beside Riku and pointed up on top of one of the old stone walls straight in front of where the exited the bailey. There stood Kaida, straight and tall as she looked down at them. A breeze blew causing the tassels of her bun covers to wave like small flags and revealing the high slit in her dress. Where was her cloak?

Luka glared up at the girl. "That's her! What was her name again?"

"Kaida." Riku doubled Luka's glare up at her. So, she was hanging out in Traverse Town. Why was she there? Why was she here, would be a better question. Darkness swirled around Kaida as she disappeared from her spot. The adrenaline was still going strong in Riku's body, being aware of everyone and everything around him. He made himself ready when she reappeared on front of them, blocking the way down to the restoration site. It was then he noticed the bandages wrapped around Kaida's arm, four red lines were visible underneath them. The other thing that be came visible was the ice that was slowly spreading across the ground from Kaida's feet. Either she had gotten stronger or she wasn't controlling her powers anymore. Both theories were possible.

"I see you're all doing well, Riku, Sora, Kairi." Kaida gave a crooked smile. "And Luka, it seems like we got off on the wrong foot, or in your case paw." Luka's eyes narrowed at the girl. "Although you should know that it's not very nice to attack a lady and destroy her coat." She gave the group a better view of her injury. "It'll be a while before I can fix it too."

"Why do I care if you can fix your stupid coat or not?" Luka retorted, turning into a wildcat, ready to fight. His voice got deeper and it was almost a growl as he yelled at Kaida. "You're far from a lady and YOU attacked me first!"

"No need to raise your voice, Kitty." Kaida said calmly while Luka sneered at her. She looked over each of them with those still burning eyes, taking notes on all of them. "Besides it's over and done now. I'm not here to fight."

This seemed to catch Riku and everyone else off guard. A fight seemed to be the one thing she wanted everywhere she went. They all held their ground as the tension continued to rise in the freezing air. Riku's eyes were glued on her. Kaida noticed all of this. "Fine, look." She pulled out both of her fans, and again to everyone's amazement, dropped them. The thin layer of ice crunched and cracked as they landed. "There, now I'm unarmed. Is everybody happy?"

"Not quite." Sora reaffirmed his fighting stance.

Kaida rolled her eyes. "Well, can all of you please stop looking like you're going to kill me as soon as I let my guard down?"

"Maybe." Riku responded coolly. He held his keyblade up and had it aimed straight for Kaida's chest."That depends on your reason for being here."

"Hmpt!" Kaida crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm here to make a deal with all of you."

"What kind of deal?" Sora asked warily.

"The kind of deal where if you trust me..." Kaida paused for a moment. Riku listened intently. "I'll send all of you home, right now."

The glares quickly dropped and became dumbfounded stares. Maybe Riku's ears were lying to him. Send them home? Luka's home in Traverse Town was still out there, but not their home. Hours ago they had watched their island become consumed by Heartless. Either a miracle had happened or Kaida was lying really badly.

"That's impossible." Sora calmly said. "Our island-."

"Was taken over by heartless." Kaida finished the sentence. "It was pretty severe but it didn't destroy your world. They only took over that one little island, so your world it still exists. Some of the heartless left, and I took care of most of the ones that stayed."

"Why would you do that?" Kairi asked in the same disbelief they all had.

"You could say that I was feeling charitable." Kaida rolled her eyes.

"I'm not buying it." Riku called out. "Last summer you were determined to defeat me in a fight no matter what, and now you're trying to save us?"

"Look," Kaida began, unfolding her arms. "Obviously, Nor- someone wanted to drag you guys off your little island for a reason. Someone in control of the heartless, maybe even the nobodies. Either way, if it's someone who had the same goals as Xemnas then they want to drag all of you out here to use you. So do everyone and yourselves a favor and not play in his hands. Go home."

"No." Riku said cooly, lowering his keyblade to his side. "We won't go."

"What?" Kaida's eyes narrowed at him.

"Riku, what are you saying?" Kairi also stared at him in disbelief.

Sora was the opposite, and nodded to his friend. "If this person wants us so badly, why wouldn't they just destroy our world for real to get us back again?"

A corridor of darkness opened behind her. She was leaving? "This portal will take you back to your island. Don't worry, I'll send you back to Traverse Town too, Kitty. This whole thing has nothing to do with any of you, so go before it's too late."

"I think this has everything to do with us." Riku responded. Kaida was definitely hiding something, but now it wasn't just some little secret. It was something way bigger. "And you, for some reason, want us gone." Riku lifted his keyblade back up and went into his duel stance.

Sora also went back into his fight stance, and Luka hunched down. "Maybe we should take care of you now before we have to face this guy you won't name."

Kaida was silent for a while as her face went black. Again she studied each member of the group. What she was making notes of or thinking Riku could only guess. His stomach sank all the same as a wicked smile began to curve on Kaida's pale lips. The fire was re-sparked in her eyes.

"Perhaps.." She reached down and picked up one of her fans. "You need some persuasion." Kaida waved her fan up one, two, and the third time waved it higher, and Kairi let out a scream. The boys spun around to see Kairi floating in a large curved plate made of ice. A horrified look etched on her face as her friends watched her helplessly. Riku felt himself start to panic. What could he do? If he broke the ice then Kairi would fall and hit the stone below. Kaida waved her fan towards the corridor and the plate and a screaming Kairi went flying though it. Sora's face went pale. Riku felt himself go numb. Luka just stared, unsure of what to feel or do.

"KAIRI!" Riku and Sora yelled in unison. Now the sickness and numbness began to wear off, and was slowly boiling into rage.

Kaida just laughed, which only succeeded angering Riku more."Well, boys, are you going to go after your friend back home or are you just going to stand there and stare at me all day?"

"Bring her back!" Sora bellowed. "Bring her back right now!"

"Sorry, that's out of my power now." Kaida's smile was still on her face.

"Bring her back!" Sora cried out again. Kaida still giggled.

"If you think you've won, you're wrong." Riku held himself back from outright attacking Kaida. She was strong, and he knew better than to rush into a fight with her. "What do you want, Kaida?"

"Is your memory that bad, Riku?" Kaida spat. "I want you and Sora to go home."

"There's something else you're hiding." Riku wasn't going to let up on this. "The same thing you were hiding when you were fighting me!"

"That's none of your damn business!" Kaida picked up her other fan and opened both of them. She was ready to fight too. Until man's voice began to laugh from out of nowhere. Kaida was the one to turn pale, or paler than what her fair skin already was.

"You really need to work on your social skills, Kaida." The voice seemed to come from everywhere. Kaida searched hurriedly for the source. "People usually don't like to be threatened."

"You're one to talk!" Kaida shouted at the voice. It just laughed.

"Show yourself." Luka growled.

"As you wish." A corridor of darkness opened on top of the wall where Kaida once stood and a man appeared. He also stood tall but wore the black cloak of the organization with the hood covering his face. Kaida stared wide eyed at the man as she stood perfectly still. Was she scared?

"Who are you?" Sora asked. Riku and Sora both turned to to man. Luka began to growl louder.

The man chuckled. "Kaida." She snapped to attention. "Why don't you do the honors?" Kaida remained silent. The fire had died in her eyes as they remained glued on the man. "Come on, Kaida. Don't be shy now." His gloved hands slid his hood off his head. The man had strong features, a square jaw, narrow green eyes, and slightly messy black hair. "Tell the boys who I am."

Kaida breathed harshly. The ice she had made earlier was starting to melt and evaporate."Northex."

A smile appeared on the mans face. "Very good. Why didn't you tell them about me before, Kaida? I'm hurt."

"Shut up!" Kaida barked. "They have nothing to do with anything, Northex! This is between you and me!"

"You're only part right, my dear." Northex responded. "I have other things on my agenda, but I do think they have something to do with you. Why would you go to their island in the first place? It's just a matter of time before I figure it out." A silver bow began to form in Northex's hand. "Although, when I figure it out isn't really important, is it?"

Again Riku was at a loss of what was going on. He looked over at Sora and Luka, and saw that they were also lost in the conversation. What was going on between Nothex and Kaida? It meant that they weren't together, which at least Riku thought was good. She seemed scared of him, and what did that mean for them? Was Kaida actually warning them earlier? And what was he talking about them 'having something to do with her'? What things did this Northex guy have in his agenda? Again Riku had a feeling that it was nothing good for anybody.

Three arrows appeared in Northex's free hand, and swiftly he set up his bow and all three arrows. What surprised Riku the most was that he, Sora, or Luka weren't the targets. He was ready to fire them straight at Kaida. Within a few seconds, the arrows were sent flying for her chest, but Kaida reacted just as fast. With two waves of her fans, she sent out two wave of ice shards back at Northex, that he somehow managed to block. Kaida didn't seem to care as she ran without another word into the corridor of darkness she had sent Kairi through, letting it close behind her. The arrows only struck and bounced off the stones instead of piercing Kaid'a chest. Northex scowled as he dismissed his weapon.

"What the hell is going on?" Luka growled at Northex.

The scowl was quickly replaced with a smile. "Kaida...or whatever her real name is, is a threat, to everything. I'm taking care of it, but I'm willing to accept your help. I know you want her gone too." The sweeping shadows of the corridor of darkness began to appear, around Northex. "Until next time, Keybladers." In a few moments he was gone. Riku, Sora, and Luka were alone again in the bailey.

Her real name? Why did that matter? Riku couldn't think of a reason why Northex would want to know Kaida's real name. How was Kaida a threat and how was he not one? As far as Riku was concerned they were both on an equal threat level at the moment.

"Kaida, had better not be lying," Sora said. "and Kairi...she'd better be safe."

Riku nodded and put his hand on Sora's shoulder. He hadn't forgotten about his other friend yet either. "She'll be alright, Sora. Kairi's tough. We'll find her or she'll be waiting for us back home."

"I hope so, Riku." Sora looked sadly at the ground.

Luka returned to his human form. "I don't know what's going on between those two, but we have to find Kaida again."

"Why?" Riku looked up from Sora.

"I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about her that's different from Northex." Luka shook his head. "Call me crazy, but I think I've seen her before too."


	24. Chapter 23

Author's Note: Okay guys! Sorry for the very long wait! Here's a new chapter coming right at you. Going to do some revisions on the next chapters and get them posted. I've had them written for some time now, but something felt wrong so I had stopped. So, for those who have been reading this and wondering, I haven't forgotten! This is for you!

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the nothingness, Kaida found a light, a strong light. It was the Princess Kairi herself. She hadn't gone all the way to the other end, where Kaida had wanted her to go, but now it was a good thing that she didn't. Kaida ran up to the girl and took her by the hand. Confusion and fear was in Kairi's eyes, but also a strength to pull through whatever was about to happen next. DiZ had been accurate in describing her, but honestly the girl annoyed the living hell out of Kaida.

"Come on." Kaida pulled Kairi to another exit aside from the one that lead to Destiny Islands.

"No." Kairi pulled back. "I'm going home. Sora and Riku will expect me to be there waiting on them. I always wait for them."

"I'm sorry, Princess." Kaida said, using the title sarcastically in order to mock Kairi. "There's been a slight change in plans." She continued to pull Kairi along, almost dragging her.

"You're different." Kaida glanced to her side and saw the translucent image of Naminé following her beside Kairi. "You aren't like other Nobodies, Kaida." She didn't respond to the statement. "You're special somehow."

Kaida scoffed off the compliment, if that was what it was. "Special...that's a first."

"Kairi, go with her." Naminé said softly as she began to fade back into her Somebody. "I think she's actually on our side."

"Okay, Naminé." Kairi said hesitantly. She stopped resisting Kaida's pulls, following her to whatever world she had chosen to make her next icy entrance in,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Umm...Luka, you already said you have seen her before. When she attacked you." Sora reminded their new friend nervously.

"I know but what I mean is that I think I've seen her before, a long time ago."

"What! Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Riku asked, somewhat annoyed at this piece of news.

"Hey! I just remembered it after I saw her!" Luka defended himself. "It was her scent."

Riku arched an eyebrow, letting Sora ask the next question."What about her scent?"

"I knew it smelt familiar and then when I saw her. It didn't happen right away, but I remembered seeing her somewhere else before. I'm not sure how but I've seen her a long time ago."

"How long ago do you mean, Luka?" Riku's eyes narrowed on the boy.

Luka opened his mouth, but his eyes widened and quickly his mouth shut. It was as if he just realized something extremely important, maybe even frightening, but changed his mind. He stood like that for a while not saying a word. He now gave off a feeling of sadness mixed with confusion. There was no time for this though. Odds were that Kaida had lied and Kairi was in trouble. Riku and Sora needed all the information they could get on this girl, and Luka was holding out.

"Luka!" Riku grabbed Luka on the shoulders, shaking him a bit. "Answer us." He wasn't going to wait for him to feel comfortable enough to talk. This was too serious to wait.

"Look," The dark haired boy pushed the silver one away defensively. "I've had my suspicions about that girl for a while. I haven't seen her since then until now, so I didn't really put them together." Luka started. "If I tell you what I think, I'm afraid you won't believe me. No,..more like you won't want to believe me."

"Please, Luka." Sora begged. "Just tell us. We'll make the decision to believe what we want ourselves."

"Okay." Luka sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "A few days after the heartless came and took over the third and second districts of Traverse Town and everyone evacuated into the first district, I went out to walk around, and I saw Kaida but I didn't know it was her at the time."

"Then how do you know it's her for sure?" Sora was beginning to share Riku's aggravation.

Luka pointed to his nose. "Their scent and how they looked. When I saw her face I knew for sure that she was the one who attacked me and the girl I saw after the invasion."

"She didn't try to attack you when you first saw her?" Riku followed up.

"No, she didn't. She was sitting on top of a building, just looking down at me. She actually seemed really sad." Luka again went off into his own world again.

"There's something you're not telling us again, Luka." Riku could see through the cat boy. Looking through his memories, he was fighting his options about revealing one detail. "What about Kaida aren't you telling us ?"

Luka sighed. "This is where you won't believe me. Ichigo was lost after the invasion. Then when I saw Kaida now and then, I smelt Ichigo. It was really faint, but it was Ichigo's scent. I'm sure of it."

"So you're saying...that Kaida is Ichigo's Nobody." Riku stated this more than he asked. He barely even knew the words had come out of his mouth.

Luka simply nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Riku wasn't sure what to feel or say or do. His sister, Ichigo, a Nobody? Yet a Heartless invasion and one girl overrun by heartless, it would be more than possible for her heart to have stolen. Even so, on some level, this explanation didn't feel right. The thought of it sickened him.

"It makes sense, when you think about it." Luka continued. "You said she fought you last year, right, Riku? Now she's trying to protect you and Sora from being used by that Northex guy. Kaida must also sense some type of connection to you, even if she doesn't what it is."

"So, Kaida fighting Riku is her way of trying to figure out things." Sora concluded. His voice sounding a little sad as he sent his keyblade away since he had no use for it now.

Luka had the same melancholy tone. "Yeah...that would be my guess. Riku?"

The two younger boys turned to the oldest. Riku stood in silence for a minute or two. Would his sister give into the Darkness? He had done the same two years ago. It was one thing he would always regret. Surely she wouldn't have given in willingly. Ichigo wouldn't do that. At least not the Ichigo he remembered. No. He pushed the thoughts and all the others that came with it to the side. Riku sent his keyblade away as well and began walking out of the Bailey.

"Come on. There's nothing left here for us. We need to keep moving."

In an awkward cold silence, the new trio walked back to see the restoration crew. Luka was right. Riku didn't believe him, and he wasn't going to believe it until Kaida confessed that Ichigo was her Somebody to his face. The only question now was could he fight her again, and possibly send her back into Darkness, without hesitation?


	25. Chapter 24

Sitting at the top of the stair case, DiZ found Kaida. Her dark eyes like pits staring down at him. If it wasn't for her pale skin, he would have missed her in the dim lighting of the foyer. She enjoyed guessing his reaction to her appearances. His calm mellow voice took the fun out of it though, since it made his emotions harder to read. Still, she worked with what she had.

DiZ opened the conversation from his place at the bottom of the stairs."What brings you back so soon, Kaida?"

"I had to drop off a guest." She said off handedly.

"A guest?"

"Yes, she's a little upset right now though."

"Upset?"

Kaida placed her finger to her mouth to request silence, and DiZ began to hear the faint sound of someone banging on one of the doors upstairs mixed with cries for help. The voice he recognized as Kairi's voice.

"You locked Kairi in a room here?"

"No, just blocked the door with some furniture since she would be able to just open the door with her keyblade if I just locked it."

A loud scream for someone to help her out of the room followed by several louder thuds as a sign of Kairi trying to bust the door open.

"Are you sure she's alright?" DiZ inquired, arching an unseen eyebrow.

"She'll get over it." Kaida sighed and stood up. It was as if Kairi was just an angry toddler in time out and the sounds of her futile attempts to escape were merely annoying Kaida. "Anyway, we have a little problem."

"And what would that be?"

"They didn't accept my offer to go home." Kaida glanced to the door Kairi was trapped behind. "I need to finish this fight with Northex. Now"

DiZ pause for a moment before responding. "If you stay here you'll attract him and the Keybladers, eventually."

"I know..." Kaida said quietly.

"Why didn't you just send Kairi back?" DiZ asked in his scientific voice, as if he were analyzing a piece of an experiment that went slightly astray. "Surely Sora and Riku would have followed her."

"I thought about that, but then she would just be a sitting duck waiting for Northex to snatch and use as bait."

"And you think she's not a sitting duck trapped in a room here?" DiZ took on an unnaturally fatherly tone.

"Not if I'm here." Kaida said in her defense. "If I leave she'll be safe from Northex, unless he managed to round up minions of his own. If that boy is still with Sora and Riku, then they'll find Kairi in no time."

"So could Northex. He can turn the Keybladers against you." DiZ reminded her.

Kaida clutched her hands into fists. "Not if I fight him first. I'll come out on top."

"And if you don't?"

"That's not an option!" Kaida snapped.

"Kaida, stop this! You're stuck." DiZ words sounded final and absolute. It was as if they had been transformed into bricks and each of them were hitting her square in the chest. "You can't protect everyone on your own. Something has to give. Northex is strong, you know that your chances to defeating him are slim to nothing, especially after your last fight with him. You need your brother's help, Ichigo."

Kaida fell silent for a moment. Kairi's cries could still be heard. Mentioning her fight with Northex struck a cord inside her. A sense of dread came of her, a sense of no escape. Every option seemed hopeless. He was right, she was stuck. Still Kaida began to stiffen her posture and make herself taller, as if to give herself a boost of confidence. Yet, the words that came out of her mouth didn't match. "What difference will it make to him if I died? I'm not his little sister Ichigo. I'm Kaida, a girl he barely knows."

"It can make a world of difference, if he found out the truth." DiZ retained the same final tone.

Kaida laughed. "Funny... you say that after we've spent so much time hiding it."

"All secrets are revealed one way or another at some point in time. Mine were revealed. Riku's were revealed." DiZ and Kaida's eyes met again. "It's best if you tell them the truth yourself and let them hear it from you, rather than Northex with your dead body in front of them."

"If there's a body to show them." Kaida descended down the stairs to join DiZ at the bottom.

"You're running out of time, Kaida." He said solemnly. "You'll have to make a choice soon, before one is made for you."

"I know, DiZ." She looked toward the door. She couldn't look at him anymore. "I promised that I wouldn't get them involved. That I would protect them."

"I don't think Riku or Sora would want you to go after Northex alone again." DiZ kept his eye focused on the young girl before him. She seemed different and the same from the time they had first met.

"No, I don't think they would either, but I need to figure out some things first before I do something."

"Well, this is a first." DiZ commented. "You're thinking about your actions before you do them." Kaida glared up at the man. He turned serious again. "Kaida, you're also running out of strength too, aren't you? You haven't been wearing your cloak when you go in and out of the Darkness. It's draining your strength. The longer you keep up this disguise, the closer you'll come to losing yourself."

"This isn't a disguise. It's who I am now!" Kaida snapped. "Unless you know how to raise the dead and forgotten, DiZ."

His eye narrowed. "No, I'm afraid only you have to power to redeem yourself now...Kaida."

Kaida began to make her way across the foyer. Her silk slippers silenced her footsteps as she walked. "I don't know if I'll be coming back again, so thanks and good-bye, Ansem."

With those final words, Kaida left the mansion through the front door. It was the first time he had seen her use that door actually. Still, he didn't deny that this would most likely be their last meeting. What would happen next was all up her now. Should she decide to come clean, keep her secret, live or die. It was all in her hands. Even though so many things had changed, DiZ could faintly see the child that followed him anxiously all those years ago.

"Be wise, Ichigo..." That was all DiZ could say for her now.


	26. Chapter 25

The group of boys returned to the Hollow Bastion group and said their good-byes. Luka decided to come along with Riku and Sora, to help them search for Kaida and Northex. While Riku wasn't too fond of this idea, he knew that there wasn't much room to turn down help with out reason. Still he kept his attention on piloting the gummi ship while Luka and Sora seemed to be making friends with each other as they all flew away from the recovering world. From above, Riku could see that even with all the progress that Leon and his crew had made they still had a long way to go.

Riku sighed and leaned back in his chair. He stared up and out into the starry abyss, thinking of all the other worlds that were out there. This is what he had dreamed of all his life since he saw the world door. Going to other planets, escaping the islands, and yet here he was, trying to find a way back. It's strange how goals change like that. Even his goal to take care of Kaida had changed. How could he send his sister, even if it was her nobody, to the Darkness? If she approached them peacefully, then there would be no reason to fight. Yet if Kaida came to them again with a fight, then there would be no other choice. He would have to fight her until whatever end was met, good or bad. Riku still kept some hope that Luka's theory was wrong.

"So where are we headed, Riku?" Sora asked from behind, taking his place in the cockpit.

"Twilight Town." Riku replied while he was putting in the the destination. "It's probably just me, but that place always seems to attract Nobodies."

_"__Or __people__ who __want__ to __stop __them.__"_ He thought to himself, remembering his time with Ansem trying to wake Sora up.

"I think I get what you mean." Sora looked out of the gummi ship. "Last time that was were we found a way to get to Xemnas' world. Do you think Kaida or that Northex guy will be there?"

Riku started the ship's thrusters on. "Only one way to find out." The group soared off through the space of worlds. It would be a few hours until they reached the twilit town, but Riku couldn't rest himself. He had to stay on guard and watch their flight and take care of whatever they might meet on their way. This was what Riku did though, he was the one on constant look out. There was no room for him to slack off from his duty as the guardian.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A portal opened in the middle of a crossroads of a dark field. Kaida stepped out and examined her surroundings. To one side she saw the ruins of Castle Oblivion, and to the other she saw a dark route with a dim guaranteed light at the end. Then the road behind her a newly birthed dawn was awakening. Yet, Kaida did not choose a path. She only stood there at the center, waiting in the darkness, listening to the faint wind rustle the tall grass.

Kaida had made her decision on her way here. This had to end one way or another. She was going to end it now by whatever means necessary. Still she felt a tug within herself that this wasn't the right choice. As she breathed, Kaida could feel the bandages around her stomach, hidden by her clothes, from the last time she had fought Northex. It was the first time since then that she noticed them, a reminder of her almost failure. Her mistakes, his advantages, the blood, the struggle to run all played back in her head. This time things had to go differently. She had to win. Even if she lost at least it would be here in this world.

Another portal opened and Northex appeared before her, a sadistic smile on his face.

"So, you finally return to my realm, Kaida." Northex said as his portal closed.

Kaida just crossed her arms across her chest. "It's not your realm. You just inherited it from Xemnas, and he also didn't own it."

"Always caught up in the details." Northex laughed. "You know, Kaida. You can still join me. Just give in to the Darkness, become a real Nobody, and we can work together. It would be a shame for me to kill such a talented potential partner."

"I've already told you my answer." Kaida's fans appeared in her hands. "No, I don't want to join you and I am a Nobody! I'm the biggest Nobody of all."

Northex just smiled while his bow materialized. "Well...it's a shame I actually have to kill you this time. You're actually kind of cute playing pretend."

"I'm not playing around Northex! And I promise ..." Kaida opened her fans and went into her duel stance. "this fight won't be pretend either!"

"Sorry but not even the Darkness can cover up the truth you keep denying...," Northex studied Kaida in her fight stance. "But let's see if you can back up that promise, Kaida."

Three arrows appeared in his hand. In one swift motion, Northex readied his bow and arrows. Kaida watched him intensely. She would not take her eyes off him and she would not lose. The silver glowing petals fell into her hands, shifting into fans in her palms. This would be the end.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The brightly colored gummi ship landed on the edge of Twilight Town. The clock tower stood tall over the golden looking town. A whistle sounded from the train station to signal the departure of one of the steam powered vessels going off to it's next destination. The boys walked into plaza of the train station, taking in a full view of the everlasting sunset. Twilight, it was an interesting time in Riku's mind now after what he had been through here..

"So, where should we start?" Sora looked around the familiar area. "Do you smell anything that sticks out, Luka?"

"Not really." Luka replied, his eyes roaming around trying to take in his surroundings, his stiff body language also showed his discomfort. Hand reached into a pocket of his pants, pulling out a knit hat to put on. The hat took the shape of his ears so that it only looked as though they were part of the hat and not real. Riku also noticed that Luka had hidden his tail too. "Everything here is new to me, so it'll take me a while to figure out what's what and if Ichigo or Northex or Kaida are here."

"So we're stuck wandering around until something comes up." Riku commented, not meaning to sound annoyed that Luka wasn't turning out to be of much help.

"We could go find Hayner and the others." Sora said quickly. "They might be able to tell us about anything suspicious around town."

"Looks like we beat you guys to that." A squeaky voice said from ahead of them. Quickly the three boys turned to the source to see King Mickey wave at them with Donald and Goofy by his side.

"Your Majesty!" The boys said in unision. Sora's face lit up at the site of his old traveling friends and eagerly ran up to reunite with them.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, King Mickey." Luka bowed deeply to the mouse. "My name is Luka."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Luka." Mickey said cheerfully, motioning for the boy to stand, releasing him from his bow.

Riku was honestly surprised to see the mouse king here, was the situation getting worse? "What brings you all here?" He asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"We were actually looking for you guys." The king answered.

Riku tilted his head slightly as he knelt down to the King's level. "You were looking for us?"

"That's right, but where's Kairi?" Mickey began looking left to right to catch a glimpse of the auburn haired girl that wasn't there.

Riku lowered his gaze slightly. "She...was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" The King repeated,shocked. "By who?"

The image of that smile flashed inside Riku's head and allowed him to answer the King quickly as to who the culprit was. "A Nobody girl who where's a black dress and sometimes a black cloak like the Organization who calls herself Kaida."

"Kaida?" Now the King was even more shocked.

"Kaida!" Donald squawked from his reunion with Sora, and turned angrily in their direction. "What did she do this time?"

"She took Kairi..." Sora said sadly.

Donald began to squawk louder and angrier, even starting to jump up and down. "I told you that girl was no good, your Majesty! No good!"

"Oh, no..." Goofy said in a hushed tone. "I thought you said that Kaida was one of the good guys, your Majesty."

"Wait, what?" Riku's attention went back to Mickey after being distracted by the loud duck, still steaming from his tantrum. "Kaida, is a good guy...?" Honestly, the meaning of being a "good guy" had been lost to Riku. There used to be a clear line and now it was faded and blurred. One thing could now

hold several different meanings, and apparently this was holding true to the mysterious female.

"It's kind of hard to explain but Kaida came to me a while ago with a letter from you, that told about your encounters with her." The King started. "The reason we're looking for you guys is because when she gave me this letter, she also asked...almost begged me to send a Gummi ship to help get you off the island. She said that is was going to be destroyed and you along with it."

She begged? Those where two words Riku never thought he'd associate with Kaida. She just didn't seem like the type of person to beg for anything. Over all, she was one of the last people Riku would think to save their lives, but she did. Earlier, wasn't she trying to get them out of this situation?

"So, she helped saved us from the Heartless on the island, by warning you." Riku summarized. "But why?"

Sora went to Riku and joined in his conversation with the King. "While we were in Radiant Garden she tried to send us back. That it was okay to go home, and that's when she took Kairi and threw her into one of those portals that was suppose to take us home."

"She told us to stay out of what's going on because it was her business." Luka added shyly, as if unsure if he had a right to come into the conversation.

"Hmm..." Mickey paused for a few seconds. "I've only met Kaida one time before she came to me about saving you."

"When?" Riku asked immediately. "When did you meet her?"

"I met her about two years ago." Mickey answered calmly. "It was shortly after I saw you, Riku. I met Kaida while she was wearing a cloak. I was fighting some Nobodies when she helped me out. At first I thought she was with the Organization, but instead she just said that her name was Kaida and that she was just an acquaintance of DiZ. Then she just left."

"Kaida said she was with Ansem the Wise." Riku found this also hard to believe. After all, hadn't he spent part of a year working with him? "He never told me about her or even mentioned her. Besides Ansem hates Nobodies more than anyone. He would never consider working with one." Even his sister. Ansem would have told him about his sister if he knew, right?

Mickey's face grew serious and his voice a little lower. "Those were my thoughts exactly, Riku. I asked him about Kaida when we were at Xemnas' castle but the only thing he said was that it would be something had to be revealed on its own."

That sounded just like Ansem, cryptic and vague. It was his way of telling you something and not telling you a single thing at the same time. Yet if you knew where to look, then you could crack the coded words and you would know everything.

"It still doesn't make sense why Ansem the Wise or Kaida would help each other." Sora sighed.

The King sighed with the Keyblader. "I'm afraid that I'm also out of answers for why too."

"Do you have any idea what's going? About why she would want us out of the way" Riku asked. "When we met Kaida in Radiant Garden, we also saw another Nobody named Northex. He was wearing an Organization cloak too."

"What?" Mickey looked up at the boy in shock. "I've never heard of Northex or that there was another Organization member running around. He doesn't sound like he's up to anything thing good, especially if he want to continue what Xemnas started."

"That's what I'm afraid of too." Riku confessed. "Northex asked for our help to get rid of Kaida as well, saying she was a threat."

The mouse thought for a moment before responding to his friend. "I'm not sure about Kaida, but if she was telling the truth, and she's still working with Ansem, then she's no threat to us at least. Northex on the other hand seems to be the complete opposite"

"But why would Ansem work with a Nobody in the first place?" Goofy said, reminding them of Ansem's loathing for the non-existent creatures.

"Maybe...she's not really a Nobody." Luka said quietly. His expression on his face showed that he was thinking deeply, and that he was running through all of his memories of the girl.

Riku turned to the new boy. "What do you mean, Luka?"

Luka was silent. Finally his brain search gave him a result and his tense body relaxed. Instead of an expression of ease, the boy's face dropped and seemed to be in a state of shock and fear. As if he had just realized something terrible. After a few moments finally spoke. "I remember now...it makes sense now..."

"What makes sense now?" Riku demanded as he stood up. "First you said that Kaida was my sister's Nobody, so what do you know, Luka? What do you remember!"

"I'll have to explain later." Luka turned to the angry brother, facing him with the same fire and determination in his eyes. Still there was a sense of urgency in his voice. "We need to find Kaida, as fast as possible, or else Ichigo will die or worse."


	27. Chapter 26

Riku felt the numb sensation wash over him again. What was Kaida's connection to his sister now if Kaida wasn't a Nobody? He wanted to beat the life out of Luka for not explaining what he had realized but the threat he had made canceled Riku's ill feelings. He would find out the connection later. For now, he would just have to trust Luka and find Kaida before whatever found it's way to harm his sister. He stood quiet while the rest of the group started trying to come up with some sort of plan.

"But Kaida could be anywhere!" Sora said, growing frustrated. "How are we going to find her when she can go anywhere?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm definitely starting to pick up her scent." Luka's tone was serious. "She's been here quiet a few times and if your wondering, I'm getting Ichigo's scent as well. It's a little different though, and it hasn't been here as recent."

"She was here? In this town?" This thought and more kept bubbling in Riku's mind.

"So what are we going to do?" Goofy asked, his eyes wide with worry for the girl they had mentioned.

"We need to split up." Luka stated strongly, taking the lead. "Three of us need to search the town and ask about a girl with white hair and blue eyes coming to town. The last three of us need to go after Kaida."

"Wait a minute!" Donald squawked. "Who's this Ichigo girl?"

"That's right. Who's Ichigo?" Mickey asked calmly, looking at the three boys for an answer.

For a few moments before Riku could say anything. "She's my sister, your Majesty."

The mouse king was taken back for a moment in surprise before replying. "I'm sorry, Riku. We'll find her."

"Thank you, Mickey." He turned to Luka, the boy's eyes studying him again as he had back in Radiant Garden. Apparently, it still was new to him to think of his childhood friend having an older brother, or at least one that looked similar. "I'm going after Kaida." Riku said, his voice solid and determined. "If she was with Ansem then I might know a few places she could be hiding here."

"Alright, then I'm going with you." Luka responded. "In case you need me to sniff her out."

"I'll ask about Ichigo in town, maybe Hayner, Pence, and Ollette have seen her." Sora said.

Goofy and Donald stepped forward, the magician duck speaking for both of them. "We'll go with Sora."

"That means that I'm going with you, Riku." The mouse smiled.

"Okay, now that we have that settled, let's go." Luka began to make his way to the town. "I'm not sure how much time we have, so we need to work fast."

The others nodded in agreement and the two groups set out in their separate directions. Riku leading his group, with Luka a very close second behind him. If there was anyone who wanted to protect Ichigo it was them and this new warning only added fuel to the fire.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A swift wave of Kaida's fan deflected another round of arrows and sent another group of ice shards at Northex. Throughout their fight a trend had set in. Kaida would attack and Northex would defend with hardly any damage. Then he would counterattack and nearly double the damage Kaida had done to him. He even managed to reopen the wounds Luka had given her on her arm. Northex was winning and Kaida was starting to run down. DiZ was right about her having lost her strength Her light footsteps were starting to slow down and in this fight speed wasn't something she could lose. In fact, it was probably one of the only things she had against her foe. Still he managed to slap her across the face when she came in for an attack. She was too slow.

"Would you like to see a new trick I learned, Kaida?" Northex taunted. Kaida only glared at him while she wiped away a trickle of blood from her mouth after being smacked with his hand.

Northex readied four arrows on his bow silver bow, while Kaida set herself up in a defensive position. For the first time in the fight, she could feel herself shake slightly. Should couldn't be that exhausted yet, unless she was losing some other battle as well. As if he was made of dust, Northex vanished. Kaida felt her heart begin in beat harder, it almost made her chest hurt. She turned and scanned all off her surroundings but Northex wasn't anywhere. She knew he was there, and it scared Kaida even more.

"Surprise." Northex finally appeared again but instead of one there were four, one in each direction with all of their arrows aimed at her. The smile on his face was perversely disgusting, having made Kaida feel sick to her stomach on many occasions. In addition, this time she felt her heart almost stop at the sight. She heard the sound of the arrows being released from their master, and Kaid held up her fans in an attempt to try and put up a shield. The arrows kept speeding in her direction, but before they could reach her everything went black.

Northex watched as he cornered his prey. He had her right where he wanted her. The sensation of knowing the girl was powerless was extremely pleasing. The look of fear, but then it was gone. He watched in surprise as a portal of darkness wrapped around Kaida, just before the arrows hit her, and took her away from him. His prey had been stolen. He clenched his fist tightly around his bow as his three copies returned to him.

"You cheated, Kaida. No one runs from a fight with me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where are we going, Riku?" The King asked as they sped through the town, getting curious stares and glances from the townsfolk.

"The mansion!" He blurted out. "It's the best place I can think that Kaida would take refuge at if she had worked with Ansem the Wise."

"Hey, guys!" Luka shouted to get their attention. "Kaida's scent is getting stronger. I think we're on the right path."

"What about Ichigo's?" Riku asked anxiously.

"It's faint, like before. Extremely, faint." Luka said. "But it's there. I hope we aren't too late."

Riku was still wondering what Luka was so terrified about that concerned both his sister and Kaida. He would have questioned it. He should have, but if there was a little time as Luka said, then Riku would have to save his questions for later. If something happened to his sister because of his hesitation, then Riku wasn't sure if he would be able to forgive himself. The same went for Kairi, if Kaida had harmed her, or if something happened to Sora while he was out trying to get information. He was the strongest, the one people depended on. There was no time for naps or questions, he had to keep going before it was too late. After all, hadn't he promised to protect her all those years ago?

The group reached the rugged opening in the town wall. Riku sped through it, scrapping his arm on the wall as he went through. He barely noticed the pain due to the adrenaline pumping through him. Passing through the woods they were now in, started to bring back memories. Memories Riku halfway wished weren't truly his own, in fact, they felt as though they came from another lifetime. He wasn't the same as he was back then, but he knew that the person he had been was still apart of him. He always would be and he would always carry those memories. They would be his reminder of everything he had done, to both himself and his friends.

The Mansion began to come clearer into view. The ivy still grew up the walls of the abandoned structure surrounded by its rusting iron gate. The only thing out of place was the small black mound laying on the ground in front of the mansion gate. As they all came to a stop at the gate entrance, the mass came into focus and became the unconscious body of Kaida. By the way she laid on the ground, one might have thought she had been dropped there like how a child discards a ragdoll. When the boys had stopped and all of their wide eyes were on her, she began to move and regain herself as she stood up, her legs wobbling slightly. Aside from her wounds, the way the Nobody girl held herself and the presence of surprise in her eyes gave Riku the impression that either they had just missed something or Kaida had just arrived from something. Luka looked almost pained to see her in that condition, but for what reason was anybody's guess.

Kaida's dark eyes fell directly on them, and her posture of a weakened fighter immediately stiffened as she did her best to make herself appear like she had before at Radiant Garden. The grass beneath her feet became covered with a crisp layer of frost. Did she really recover so fast or was she merely trying to put on an act for them, perhaps herself. Even if it was an act, it was convincing so far. "Well, I see you lost the Keyblade Master and replaced him with the King." She smirked as the King glared at her, giving him an exaggerated bow. "It's good to see you again, Your Majesty."

"I'm not sure if I can say the same for you, Kaida." The King replied, his gaze as cold as the frost Kaida created.

The girl's smile remained, almost delighted in the mouse's frustration."I'm sorry to hear that."

"This is enough." Luka shout, stepping forward. "This is all going to end now."

"Oh, Kitty got a backbone since we last met." Kaida chimmed.

Luka began to growl as his amber eyes started to glow brighter with anger. Riku stepped forward to keep the boy from doing anything destructive. His eyes locked with hers. He was going to get answers from this girl, one way or another. If she was connected to Ichigo, he would start there. "What happened to my sister?"

"What?" Kaida raised an eyebrow, not expecting such a question. "What makes you think I know that?"

"You obviously know about her from when you came to the Islands," Riku said, calmly. "And Luka's seen you twice in Traverse Town, where she once lived. So, what happened to Ichigo?"

Kaida began to laugh softly and it took her a few moments before she could answer. "You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you what happened to your precious baby sister. She died, all helpless an alone. She cried too. Poor little Ichigo cried for someone to save her, but no one came. The Heartless killed her and took her away into the Darkness. I watched it too, the whole thing. It was pathetic."

For once, Riku wasn't sure how to react to Kaida. Her statements and comments where often hurtful and rude, she wanted them to hurt whoever she said them to but this was overkill. Even the King was taken back by her words. Riku could expect nothing less from a Nobody, she didn't care about his feelings. If he wasn't in control of his emotions, he would have charged straight at the girl for insulting him and the memories of his sister, who was far from what Kaida described. Luka, however, didn't share Riku's emotional control.

"LAIR!" Luka lashed out in a fit of rage. "You're lying!

"It's rude to call someone a lair, Kitty." Kaida said coolly. "I was there, remember? I'm just telling you what happened."

"No, you're lying." Luka sized Kaida up and moved closer. "I don't know why you're lying, but I know the truth about Ichigo! I don't know why I didn't see it sooner. She's not dead. She's alive and standing right in front of me. Isn't that right,... Ichigo?"

Riku felt the breath he was taking escape him for a moment. He was sure now that Luka was going insane. First, he claimed that Kaida was his sister's Nobody, then that she was just connected to his sister, and now he was claiming that Kaida _was_ his sister. That couldn't be possible. Yet, the determined air in Luka's posture showed confidence in his claim.

"Luka, what are you trying to do?" The King asked.

Luka turned back to his teammates. "Just trust me. Give me a little longer to talk with her."

"What did you call me?" Kaida hissed angrily, summoning her fans from the silver petals.

"I called you by your name." Luka faced Kaida again. His voice was softer this time. "Your real name. It's been a long time, Ichigo, for all of us. What's going on that you had to resort to...to this?" He referenced to Kaida's entire form. "Although, I have to say, you did a good job mastering it."

"Shut up!" Kaida sent two waves of ice blades straight for Luka, who simply dodged them. In fact, Riku could have sworn he saw a smile in the boy's face. After the attack, both Riku and the King summoned their keyblades, and were about to go help their friend, until he stopped them.

"Stay back, guys!" Luka called back. "Ichigo, what's wrong? Why are you running from Northex?"

Kaida released another series of ice blades for Luka to dodge. "I'm not Ichigo and Northex none of your business!"

"Ichigo! I know it's you! Stop hiding!" Luka shouted as the last piece of ice flew past him. This time he ran to keep the ice from going toward Riku and the King. "We're here to help you, me, your brother, the King, Sora, Donald, and Goofy. We want to help. Whatever it is you don't have to do it alone!"

Luka's words had a familiar echo to them. Riku had heard almost the exact same words in Xemnas' world a year ago from Sora. He had tried to do so much by himself, even when working with Ansem. It was almost a full time job just making sure Sora stayed off his trail, even though he knew that his friend wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. Ichigo, was almost the same way from what he remembered. She wanted to figure everything out on her own, so she could have the feeling of knowing that she could take care of herself or someone else. Except for those few times when she would cling to him for strength.

A new light began to be cast on Kaida in Riku's eyes. Luka continued to call out to her and Kaida would continue to push him back. It was obvious to him that her blows were losing strength slowly. As Kaida fought back Luka, Riku began to see the form of the frightened young girl he had promised to protect within her.

Riku took a deep breath, making sure he hadn't stopped breathing over all. _"__I__think__I__get__it__now,__Luka,__even__though__it__seems__impossible.__"_

"This is just like old times, Ichigo." Luka said with a smile, still dodging her attacks. "Our fights in the plaza."

"This isn't some kids' fight!" Kaida snapped. "This is real!"

"But if it was for real, you wouldn't be missing or letting me dodge." Luka locked eyes with her now that there was a moment of calm. "It's on purpose. You don't want to hurt me, do you, Ichigo?" Kaida was silent and only stared at Luka. Her chest was rising and falling faster than earlier as she tried to catch her breath. "Come on! If this is a real fight this time, then start trying to hit me! You fought your brother all out last summer, so don't get scared now."

"Shut up!"She barked. Kaida finally lost her posture and she fell to her knees. The group there was slightly taken back in surprise. Her battle wounds and exhaustion were finally taking their toll on her. Yet, Kaida still had enough energy to release a golden halo above herself, decorated with bells and flowers, after uttering the word: Curega. Even so, she remained on the ground. "You know, Kitty, you're really annoying."

"You're one of the only people in all the worlds that know calling me Kitty, really ticks me off, Ichigo." Luka kept eye contact with Kaida. "Call me by my name, Ichigo. Don't pretend you don't know it."

"But I don't know it." Kaida managed to give a grin. "Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me?"

"Ichigo, stop this! You know who I am!" Luka shouted. "Please come back! Tell us what's wrong!"

Kaida began to pick herself off the ground, and did not respond to Luka. Her arm was still bloody from where the wound had been reopened. A trickle of bloody began to run out of her mouth again. She made no sound as she stood on her feet, or showed signs of pain. Instead it held a hint of sadness.

"You were fighting Northex. You've been fighting him." Riku said aloud, obviously Luka's method of getting the Nobody to crack wasn't working. Kaida and Luka both turned to him, not expecting to hear his voice. "He's the one who was tailing you last summer. The person who sent those Heartless. What does he want with you?"

"That's none of your concern." Kaida hissed.

"I think it is my concern. He's up to no good and for some reason wants you taken care of." Riku said coolly. "When you pop up in my world, demand fights, bring Heartless, and then go around trying to save us, I think I have a right to know what's going on."

"I think you need to learn to stay out of other people's business." Kaida glared at Riku, who didn't return the gesture. "I was there on accident and I fought you because I was bored."

"No, there's more than that." Mickey spoke up. "Why would you ask me to send a ship to save them? Also the last time we met, you claimed that you were working with Ansem! I believe you owe us all an explanation, Kaida or Ichigo or whoever you are!"

"Yes." Northex's voice said from everywhere and nowhere. "Why don't you just explain this to all of us, Kaida."

Northex appeared out of a portal directly behind Ichigo, giving her a swift kick to be back as he did so, sending her rolling to the ground. The new trio gazed at the newcomer as a sense of dread fell over them.


	28. End of Act II

Kaida coughed up more blood as she regained her composure and tried to stand up again, only to be knocked back down by a blow from Northex's bow.

"You ran from our fight, Kaida." He growled. "We're finishing this…NOW." He raised his bow, an arrow forming in his hand as he steadied his aim for the girl.

Riku's eyes widened as adrenaline rushed through his viens . There was no time to think. He and the King rushed to stand as a shield in front of Kaida, taking Northex by surprise. This girl was vital to the questions they all had, whether they would like the answers or not, and there was no chance that they would let her go like this into whatever afterlife she was destined to join.

Luka took their defensive move to an offensive level. With Northex distracted by Riku and King Mickey, he ran toward the man at full speed, shifting into his liger form as he did so. Jumping through the air on his powerful haunches, Luka pounced on Northex, taking him to the ground. His long canine teeth were clearly visible as he snarled at the Nobody.

"Leave her ALONE!" He roared. "You have some nerve beating up girls!"

"She's a weed that needs to be rooted out and destroyed!" Northex pushed Luka off of him, managing to stand up again. He glared at the two keybladers guarding the female nobody. "What reason do you have for protecting her? You don't even know her!"

"Maybe not." Riku began. "But we need her." He glanced back at Kaida. Her eyes were focused on him. For a split moment, he could have sworn that they were blue, the same wide blue eyes that would stare up at him so innocently for answers and comfort. No, he couldn't let himself believe anything just yet. "And I think, at least at the moment, she needs us."

Northex scoffed in annoyance. "Well isn't that touching. I thought you didn't need anyone, Kaida, but obviously you need to find someone to hide behind when things get a little tough."

Kaida's entire body filled with rage at Northex's comment so much that she began to shake a little. Her wide eyes seemed to have been set on fire. A renewed spirit allowed her to stand up again. "I'm not hiding, Northex. I'm right here, ready to take you on! I'm not sure how I got here, but no matter what we will finish this fight. I guarantee it!"

King Mickey looked at the girl in horror. "No! You can't fight him!"

"I have to!" Kaida retorted. "Now move out of the way!" She ran past Riku and Mickey before they could block her path. Her fans found their way back to her hands and she sent three waves of large ice shards hurling toward Northex, who seemed to dodge them with a frustrating ease that angered her more. A smile appeared on his face, causing Riku's stomach to drop. He watched both Nobodies closely, knowing that some new idea had just occurred to Northex.

Northex raised his bow again, this time with three arrows, at Kaida as she made her way closer to him. She was almost five feet away from him, before Northex decided to change directions. Instead of aiming for Kaida, he took aim for Luka, who stood off to the side and was now in his humanoid form. In the split second that he changed directions, Northex took his shot, piercing Luka with two arrows in his left shoulder and grazing his cheek with the third. The boy let out a cry of pain as the arrows penetrated him, causing Kaida to stop in her tracks. A look of horror was etched on her face that Riku thought was impossible for Nobodies to make.

Kaida's voice changed, as if it was another person talking, as she screamed. "NO!"

All eyes turned to her. Another sadist smile appeared on Northex face, as if confirming some notion about Kaida in his mind. This new voice sounded familiar but not. It struck a cord within Riku that made his adrenaline rush more to where he could feel his heart beating against his rib cage. He was anxious and somewhat scared of this new change. One thing can mean many different things, and if that trend was still going then he wasn't going to be caught off guard. A little fear could be a good thing in a situation, as long as one kept it in check and didn't let it over run them.

"Ichigo…" Luka said, breaking the brief silence as he pulled out the arrows from his shoulder. Kaida quickly covered her mouth, realizing what had happened. His gripped his wound tightly with his hat that had been discarded earlier to help stop the bleeding "Don't worry about me."

Kaida responded coolly in her usual voice, snapping back to her former persona. "I'm not."

"You shouldn't be." Northex added.

Another series of arrows came Kaida's way. This time however she was the one able to block them easily with her fan, each making their own metallic sound as they bounced off the fan and faded. A sickening smile however came to Northex's face, instead of anger or annoyance, as he looked at the girl that made even Riku's stomach twist into knots while Kaida slipped backwards a few steps from her opponent.

"But you are worried, aren't you?" Northex continued. Kaida remained silent and still. As if silence was better than answering. However the anger expressed in her face and eyes, did enough talking for her. "I'll make my offer one last time, Kaida." Northex held out his hand to the girl for her to take. "Stop being so stubborn and join me in making Kingdom Hearts. Don't you want a heart again? A real heart? To be complete?"

Kaida broke her silence with her built up anger. "No! For the millionth time, no! I'm not interested in joining you or making Kingdom Hearts! Besides a new heart won't make me complete again."

Northex brought back his hand and folded it behind his back. Instead of being defeated, he seemed to have had some truth confirmed for him. "Because you already have a heart, don't you?"

Tension increased from everyone in the area. From the corner of his eye, Riku could see that Luka was completely unaffected by this statement. Was this what he was talking about earlier? Riku glanced over to Kaida, who seemed frozen in shock. Although one could also thing she was literally frozen to the ground considering the ice spreading from her feet.

"A true Nobody would have jumped at the chance for a new heart, but you…," He paused to glance over Kaida. "You've resisted me and the Organization since the beginning. With whatever feelings you have for these people, you've proven that you are not a Nobody, and maybe you are in some abstract sense that you use to claim to be one of us. Still, you could have been such a good partner and ally, whatever you are." The same sickening smile appeared again as he continued to look over Kaida, although his eyes seemed to stuck on her exposed leg from the high slit in her skirt. "or something else."

At that moment, Riku wasn't sure if he was feeling more outraged that he wasn't sure what this meant Kaida was or that Northex was openly acting like a pervert toward a girl almost half his age. Kaida's face, however, had reached a new level of paleness.

"You're sick…" She said in utter disgust to the man, doing her best to hide her exposed leg from his sight.

"No matter. I've always sensed that you were different somehow, Kaida." Northex said calmly. "Now, I have a new way to solve this situation once and for all."

Suddenly, the doors of the mansion flew open. DiZ stepped outside into the sunlight, appearing to be almost like a floating shadow in his purple garb. Eyes flew from Kaida and Northex to the man now entering the area. Riku felt himself release a small gasp of air from his mouth as he saw the man he once worked with to help his friends and defeat the Organization. At first he didn't believe that this could possibly be the same man. Didn't he watch Ansem disappear after his decoder exploded in Xemnas' world? That quickly changed when the man spoke in his deep familiar voice.

"Ichigo! All of you! Run!" He shouted. "Get out of here and away from this man!"

"Stay out of this, old man!" Northex shouted in return before turning his attention back to Kaida. However, she was already taking heed to Ansem's warning by opening a corridor of darkness behind her.

Kaida waved franticly to Riku and the others with her fan to come to her and her corridor. "Come on! Just go through the corridor!"

"Not so fast, girl!" Northex ran toward Kaida, briefly disappearing for a moment before reappearing right in front of her, revealing his hidden hand that was holding a large orb of darkness. Without wasting time, he slammed it straight into her chest causing Kaida to crumble to the ground, drop her fans, and her corridor of darkness to disappear, even the ice and frost beneath her melted away. Her face was etched in pain as she wrapped her arms around her arms around her chest tightly where the orb of darkness had entered her. Riku and the King moved backward, joining Luka who had regained his composure and was standing again. He was still gripping griping his wound tightly.

"That should fix things." Northex stepped back, almost as if to admire Kaida's pain. "There are only two options from here, Kaida. You'll either die fighting the darkness or give in. At least then you'll be a true Nobody who would be more than willing join my side. Either way, it doesn't matter to me."

Northex was soon engulfed in his own corridor of darkness and vanished within seconds, leaving no trace of his presence. As soon as he was gone, Kaida screamed in pain. If Riku could have a guess, she had probably held in her pain until the Nobody was gone and couldn't see her scream or rile in the pain he had put her in. Again he felt a mix of emotions flood through him. He felt sorry for her. He wanted to stop her pain, to take away the Darkness. It wasn't about answers anymore. If there was any chance that this was Ichigo, then they needed to save Kaida. Even King Mickey looked at the girl with empathy for her pain. There was also Ansem, who now decided to join them from out of his cozy lab. There were more questions Riku had for him too. If he had heard him correctly, Ansem, or DiZ, also called Kaida by his sister's name.

"Ichigo," DiZ took off his violet disguise from his face, showing his identity as Ansem the Wise, as he came closer to the girl, past the iron gates of the house. "Fight it. You have to."

"Fight it, Ichigo!" Luka echoed desperately, getting as close to Kaida as he could on her level. A dark aura was beginning to form around the girl. The Darkness was slowly growing stronger within her. "Come on! You're stronger than the Darkness. I know you are!"

Kaida let out another deafening scream as she started grabbing her hair. Sparks flew from around her as she continued fighting the Darkness. The aura was growing larger around her body. Riku cringed as another surge of pain went through Kaida's body that promptly caused her to scream again. He could faintly see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. The sound of a door caught Riku's attention, causing him to glance up to see Kairi also leave the mansion. It seems like she wasn't in the islands after all. However she remained silent, behind Ansem, as everyone watched Kaida struggle.

"Riku," Mickey said firmly, to get his friend's attention. "I know this is hard for you, but what are we going to do if she turns into a Nobody like Northex said? If he was right, then Kaida wasn't a Nobody at all, just a magic user."

"I…I don't know." Riku replied honestly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Only if she's not a Nobody, how can she open corridors of Darkness?"

Riku didn't want to think about that possibility at all, no matter what the odds were. Then there was a matter of what Kaida was, should she be his sister or some other creature. Luka seemed to know exactly what she was, or at least had a theory, but still hadn't told any of them. If he wasn't so concentrated on Kaida, then he would have made him talk, but that answer could wait for now. At least until this was over. Riku's thoughts were broken by a small noise that he found to be Kaida whimpering as the aura sparked more as it got darker. She was losing her battle.

"It hurts…" Kaida whispered. "so much."

"No, don't give up!" Luka pleaded. "You can't stop!"

Without thinking, Riku continued on Luka's pleas. "Don't give in and don't stop fighting. You can't die or disappear or turn into a Nobody, if you really aren't one now. I don't want you to disappear,…Ichigo." Riku didn't even realize that he had called Kaida Ichigo until a few moments later, as Kaida stared up at him with those wide pain-filled eyes. It was as if he had broken something inside her by calling her that name instead of the one he was supposed to, or perhaps something else was relit.

"Riku," Kaida began. "I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

The dark aura around Kaida expanded to consume her entire body, completely hiding her from sight. The trio, who were closest to her, were taken by surprised and moved back from the event. Riku had been so sure that she might have been able to save herself. His head dropped, along with the others, not wanting to see what came next. Ansem even raised a gloved hand to help shield his eyes from the sight. Suddenly, from the center of the Darkness, a flash of light that shined brightly appeared. Again everyone watching was caught off guard and snapped their heads up to see what exactly had happened, but were forced to look away as the light grew brighter. The Darkness was quickly turning into a strong blinding light. Was Kaida winning, after all?

Time seemed to pass slowly. The minutes it took for the light to fade away seemed to stretch out for hours. As soon as he could, Riku opened his eyes and saw that there was no more Darkness or Light lingering. In fact, he didn't even see Kaida, there was only a heap of black on the ground that Riku saw was a person in a black cloak. Kairi left Ansem, who slowly slipped back into the Mansion, and joined her friends while keeping a distance away from the dark mass. For a few moments, the person didn't move or make a noise. Riku wasn't even sure if it was still Kaida laying there, if they were alive until they began to move. First, the fingers began to twitch and then the hand and the entire arm. Then the whole body began to move, reaching for the fans Kaida had dropped earlier. Luka was taking deep breaths, analyzing the person in front of him, but the confused look on his face seemed to indicate that he wasn't getting anything useful or anything at all.

The figure stood up, they seemed to be fairly weak however. They swayed from side to side as if trying to find their balance. Its head moved in all directions as if the person was confused and trying to make sense of what was going and where they were. Luka stood up with them and as if his understood the situation, even if he couldn't get a firm reading on the person. He firmly took hold of the person's arms to help hold them steady. The dark hole in the hood was directed right at him, possibly eye to eye. They were both roughly around the same height. Luka was also the only person close enough to see the face hidden under the hood, but it obviously pleased him, considering that a wide smile immediately spread across his face.

"What are you smiling at?" the figure asked, only it wasn't really Kaida's voice. Instead it was the voice she had used after Northex shot Luka. The figure's head snapped up in surprise, like Kaida's, after the word's left its mouth. Riku's anxiety rose slightly. For a moment he thought it would change back to Kaida's voice, but it didn't. "M-my voice…what happened? My hair…"

"It's good to have you back, Ichigo." Luka said, cheerily. "You really had me fooled. You had all of us fooled."

The figure quickly pulled back its hood, revealing a delicate face similar to Kaida's, but icy blue had replaced the dark brown in the eyes. There was a faint hint of rose color in her cheeks that matched her lips, and stood out as her white hair tumbled down to her waist. Her bangs were long enough now to be tucked behind her ears or be brushed to join the rest of her hair. She pulled pieces of her hair in front of her eyes in order to examine it closer, to prove that it was no longer black. She opened her fans that had also changed from black to a pale yellow with the same designs only in silver.

"Again," Luka pulled the girl into an embrace. "It's good to have you back, Ichigo."

"I hate you, Luka…" She said softly, making the boy chuckle.

He was right was all Riku could think as he stared at his sister. He could hear small gasps from the King and Kairi at their striking similarity to each other. Although this wasn't the sister he remembered from the islands. How could this be the same girl who laughed in pigtails and danced in the waves as they broke on the shore? She was so much older now, so different from that little girl, like a whole other person. A few minutes ago she was another person, and only Luka could see through it. By now she had to be his age when he had been sucked into the mess of Kingdom Hearts. It had been so long since they had seen each other. Those lazy childhood days they had all spent on the island together seemed like a lifetime ago, something they couldn't go back to ever. Riku hadn't expected Ichigo to be the same when they found her again, that would not have been realistic. Of course she was going to change, but how she would was the only question. Certainly not this much, at least in Riku's thinking. She could even use magic now. While Ichigo had lived on and grew up, Riku had kept holding on to an old picture of a young girl he would never see again. Although what exception what he to that rule? Hadn't he changed just as much as her? He had definitely changed over the last few years and his struggle with the Darkness. What would she say or think about him when she found out about the mistakes he had made?

"Riku." Kairi said softly, breaking Riku's train of thought and bringing him back to reality.

Ichigo was now standing in front of him. She was tall for a girl. She was definitely taller than Kairi, and maybe as tall as Luka or Sora. However, she still had to look up in order to meet her brother's eyes. Her blue eyes, the same shade as his own, were wide as she studied his face. Her body was tense, as if she was waiting for judgment from him. As if she was waiting for his word of acceptance. Although, Riku was just as nervous as she was. For a split moment, she was that young girl on the island again looking to him for guidance on sparring or swimming. Most of all, she looked like girl who asked for his protection if she wasn't strong enough as her eyes began to turn watery and red. No, Ichigo's eyes actually were starting to tear up. Only when Riku noticed this, Ichigo looked down. Perhaps she wasn't too much different from the sister he once knew.

"You kept it." Ichigo said, her eyes now focused on the necklace around Riku's neck.

"I had to." Riku replied. "To find out where you were, and it worked."

"I thought you would get rid of it."

Riku arched an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

"I didn't think you would remember it." Ichigo confessed.

"Of course I remember it. You wore it everywhere." That was how Riku had identified it in the first place.

Ichigo sighed. "If you did remember…I thought you would get rid of it. so it wouldn't remind you of me."

"That's the reason I kept it," Ichigo looked up, surprised at her brother. "Because it did remind me of you, so I would remember to keep looking for you. You didn't think any of us had forgotten about you, right?"

Ichigo wiped away the tears she couldn't hold back with her sleeve. She tried to fix her composure to hide her emotions under a calculated mask, but was failing. It was as if she was trying to pull on the same face as Kaida, but she wasn't her anymore, even if he didn't understand how. Riku pulled his sister into a tight hug close to his chest, allowing her to hide her face. In a few seconds, his shirt was beginning to absorb the tears Ichigo had been holding in as she wrapped her arms around him.

Through her tears, Riku heard her muffled voiced. "Thank you…"

A small smile appeared on Riku face. Yes, even with the changes, this was the same sister he knew and lost back on Destiny Islands. The one they all loved and mourned, and now she was right here. She was alive. After a few minutes, Riku felt Ichigo stop crying, and in fact felt her body go limp. Her arms fell to the side. The only action he could feel her doing was breathing. He gently moved his sister's body, and saw that Ichigo had fallen asleep.

"_Rest well, little sis"_

~End of Act II~

**Author's Note:** Hey, everyone! Here is the end of Act II! I hope you all enjoyed it, and thank you for sticking with me to this point. It's been rough, but I feel successful by staying by this story. Please do me the honor of staying with me through the third and final act! Again thank you!


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